Chapter Text
Richie Tozier met Eddie Kaspbrak in his second year of college. He met him in a bar near campus on a Friday night. He was there because his best friend Beverly had dragged him out of their apartment, claiming that she wasn't going to let him stay in for two nights in a row, sulking and eating ice cream for dinner. Except she had ditched him just after arriving at the bar for some guy she had met a few weeks ago, an architecture major called Ben.
Well. Bev didn't leave him right away, they actually ate and talked for a while before she saw Ben and some friend of his and left to say hi. Richie couldn't blame her for wanting to talk to Ben instead of him, he wasn't in his best mood and was far from the most enjoyable company at the moment. Now that it was just him Richie figured he could have one last drink and then head home and be miserable, which had been his plan for the evening.
Without Bev there to distract him, the reason why he was in such a bad mood in the first place was the only thing Richie could think about. His mind was filled with Heather, Heather and more Heather. He thought about Heather's smile, the crinkle in her eyes when she would laugh at Richie's awful jokes, how she would curl up next to him when they watched movies.
He also thought about the way she'd reacted when Richie told her he liked guys as well as girls and how afterwards she would glare at him when he got “too close” to Stan or get mad when he spent the night over at his and Mike's place.
He thought about the look in her eyes when she broke up with him, claiming she needed space or time or something like that, only to start dating some other guy less than a week later. That had happened three months ago and Richie was over it and over her, but he ran into Heather and her new boyfriend the day before and that brought all those memories back to the surface, leaving him in a terrible mood.
He figured this wasn't working, if he was going to be miserable he might as well do it back home. At least there he had ice cream. He grabbed some money from his wallet and was already standing up when someone slid on the seat next to him.
“Damn, you're leaving?” The guy asked. Richie turned to face him, thinking that perhaps it was someone he knew, maybe a classmate or someone from work. He was already trying to come up with some excuse not to hang around when he got a good look at the guy. Whatever words were about to leave his mouth died in his throat, not only because he definitely didn't know the guy but also because he was the most beautiful man Richie had ever seen.
“Uh. Yes. I mean ― I'm sorry, do I know you?” Richie stuttered, mentally slapping himself for sounding like an idiot.
“Right. No, you don't know me. I know you though.” Richie's eyebrows rose and the kid must have figured out how that sounded because his eyes widened and he blushed, before adding, “Shit, that sounds creepy. I know your name. I'm friends with Ben, Ben Hanscom? He's always talking about your best friend, Beverly? He mentioned you.” He looked down, still embarrassed. Gosh he's so fucking cute , Richie thought and smiled at him.
“He ditched you the moment Bev showed up?” Richie asked.
“Not really, Ben's too nice for that but I got tired of being the third wheel on the table. And I saw you walk in with Beverly so I thought I'd come over here.” He answered, signaling the bartender for another drink.
“Because Beverly ditched me and you thought I looked miserable, all here by myself?” He smirked when the guy's blush deepened.
“I didn't say that!” His voice came out more like a squeak and it made Richie laugh. When he realized that Richie wasn't really offended, the guy relaxed slightly. “I just felt it was dumb to drink on my own when you were right here. Also, from what I've gathered after seeing Beverly and Ben together, we were gonna meet eventually, those two are like, five seconds away from officially starting to date.” He turned slightly when he said that, probably looking at the two in question, which gave Richie a chance to get a good look at him.
He could tell that the guy was short, his feet were nowhere near the floor whereas Richie's rested on it. He was wearing shorts and Richie tried not to stare at his legs but it was hard with how much of them he was showing. He had brown hair, short compared to Richie's but it still curled around his ears and on his forehead a bit. He had a lot of freckles and his eyes were a deep brown, like melted chocolate.
Those eyes were looking back at him, with a questioning look and Richie realized he had probably been staring for a while now and it was his turn to blush.
He cleared his throat, went to take a swig from his beer, only to find the bottle was gone. He could feel the guy's eyes on him, so he gestured to the bartender for another one.
“Changed your mind about leaving?” Asked the bartender with a smile and a knowing glance on the guy, making Richie choke on his beer and blush even harder. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the guy holding back a grin at the bartender's remark. Richie cleared his throat and tried to fill in the awkward silence.
“What's your name?”
“It's Eddie, Eddie Kaspbrak.” The guy said and then he looked at Richie's beer bottle and with a smirk, he added, “I thought you were leaving.”
“Well, Eddie Spaghetti, I realized I might need another beer or two before I head back home to your mother.” Richie joked and laughed at the way Eddie's face scrunched up.
“First of all, that's just gross. Second of all, do not call me that.”
“Sure thing Eds.”
“I'm seriously regretting telling you my name now.”
“I can think of other names to call you. How does cutie sound?” Richie asked and saw Eddie freeze and blush furiously. And wasn't that the cutest thing Richie had ever seen.
It took Eddie a few seconds to recover from Richie's comment and when he did he could only whisper, “I guess Eds it's fine”.
Richie smiled. Yeah , he thought, I guess I'll stay for one or two more beers.
One or two beers turned into four more and a round of shots. They talked a lot and Richie marveled at how easy it was to talk to Eddie. They even danced at one point, when one of Eddie's favorite songs came on and he dragged Richie to where other people were dancing. Richie didn't do much dancing, he stood there watching Eddie while he moved around and jumped and laughed, occasionally moving his feet and playing along when Eddie grabbed his hand and used it to twirl himself around.
Somewhere between Richie's sixth beer and a story about how Eddie, Ben and their other best friend Bill had once built a dam and flooded part of their town when they were kids, Ben and Beverly had approached them. They told Richie and Eddie that they were leaving together and that Richie might want to find a place to stay for the night.
“You can go to Stan and Mike's, I'm sure they won't mind.” Bev said with an innocent smile before kissing Richie's cheek, grabbing Ben's arm and leaving the bar.
Richie glared at her. She looked happy and he liked to see her happy but he was still going to kill her in the morning.
That was, if Stan didn't kill him first for waking him up in the middle of the night only to ask if he could crash at their place.
After years of friendship Richie had learned that you simply didn't wake up Stanley Uris unless you were dying, and even then you'll still probably get yelled at for not choosing to die at a more convenient hour. She'll owe me big for this , Richie thought.
“You could also stay at my place? If you want?” Eddie asked him when their friends had left the bar.
Richie glanced at him. Just like Richie himself, Eddie was drunk. His cheeks were pink, his eyes were glazed and he didn't seem to be able to stop moving or smiling. Richie thought he looked beautiful and he would be a fool not to want to go home with him. Still, there was a part of him, maybe the part that wasn't drunk on both alcohol and Eddie, that told him that this thing between them was too special to waste on a drunken one night stand. And that it was best if he left by himself, slept on Mike and Stan's couch and called Eddie in the morning ―a sked him out on a date, did this right.
In the end, they did leave together but only because Richie was worried Eddie wouldn't make it back to his apartment without his help. He called them a cab and gave the driver Eddie's apartment address.
When they got there, Richie was glad that there was an elevator in the building, because by now Eddie was dead on his feet and Richie wouldn't know how to get him to the fifth floor otherwise.
They went inside and Richie had approximately thirty seconds to admire the place before Eddie was rushing to what he assumed was the bathroom. He could hear Eddie throwing up and he knew he should be grossed out but his concern for Eddie beat anything else he might be feeling and he found himself rushing towards the bathroom as well.
He found Eddie on the floor and Richie's heart ached with how miserable he looked. He lifted his head and his eyes found Richie's. He let out a pained groan.
“Oh my god, I can't believe you're seeing me like this. There goes any chance of getting a kiss from you tonight.” He said with a pout. Richie's heart fluttered with how adorable it made him look. The guy just threw up in his toilet and you find him cute, you are in so much trouble, Tozier , a voice in his head said.
“Sober you is going to murder drunk you for admitting you'd like me to kiss you.” Richie chuckled. He grabbed a glass from the bathroom sink, filled it with water and handed it to Eddie, who groaned in response.
He took small sips of water so as to not throw up again. Richie sat on the floor next to him and rubbed his back soothingly. Eddie smiled at him over his shoulder and for a moment Richie didn't feel drunk anymore, he felt stone-cold sober as he was hit with the thought that he could very clearly see himself falling in love with Eddie.
So what if he had only known him for a few hours? And so what if he wasn’t looking his best right now, his face propped up on the toilet seat while sitting on the bathroom floor? That didn’t change the fact that Eddie was the most beautiful boy Richie had ever seen. Or that talking to him felt like talking to someone he had known his entire life. Or that his smile alone made Richie's stomach do somersaults and completely forget about Heather in a way no one else did, not even his closest friends.
Damn Richie, if I didn’t know any better, I'd say you love him already , a voice in his head ― one that sounded suspiciously like Beverly ― said.
Well fuck me , his own voice answered, I think I do .
Eddie's groan snapped him out of it, Richie saw that he was trying to stand up and rushed to help him. Eddie let him take most of his weight and together they managed to take a few steps towards the door before Eddie stopped him.
“Wait. I refuse to go to bed with vomit on my mouth, Richie.” He said holding on to the sink and grabbing his toothbrush.
He brushed his teeth three times before he allowed Richie to drag him to his bedroom, where he grabbed some clothes from the dresser and changed, while Richie turned around and intensely studied the posters on Eddie's wall.
He cleared his throat to signal Richie that it was safe to turn around again. When he did, he saw Eddie struggling to drag back the covers of his bed. With a chuckle, Richie helped him and he climbed in. By then all the excitement of the night had caught up with him and he was feeling really sleepy.
Richie went back to the bathroom and found some aspirin, he rinsed the glass Eddie had used and filled it with water again before placing both items on Eddie's bedside table. He also placed a small kiss on Eddie's forehead and turned to leave when Eddie mumbled something.
“What was that, Eds?”
“I did get a kiss from you tonight.” Richie froze, blushing at having been caught.
“Uh sorry, I um ― I thought you were asleep. I was just leaving.”
“It's okay, I don't mind.” Eddie said, his voice not more than a whisper. “You don't have to leave though, you can stay, I promise I won't try to do anything.”
“Well, where's the fun in that?” Richie said, smirking. Then his smile softened, “I don't think it's a good idea for me to stay, you need to rest. I'll call you tomorrow morning.” His head gave a painful throb in that moment and he added: “Actually I'll call you tomorrow afternoon, since I'll probably sleep the entire fucking day”.
“But you don't have my number.” Eddie replied stubbornly. There's that pout again, Richie thought, if he does it again I might just end up staying after all.
“I'll tell Bev to ask Ben for it. Don't you worry, Eddie Spaghetti, this isn't the last you'll see of me.”
“Okay, goodnight Richie.” He said, his eyes were already closing when he added, “And don't call me that.”
“Goodnight Eddie.” Richie answered before walking out of the room and then the apartment.
He called a cab for the second time that night and as it drove him to Stan and Mike's apartment he texted Beverly, a smile on his face.
I know you're probably busy right now ;) but I need you to ask Benny boy for Eddie's number, tell him I promised the love of my life I'd call him.
He was still smiling when he knocked on his friends' door and not even Stan yelling at him and throwing a pillow at his face were enough to erase the silly smile from his face.