Chapter Text
Richie smiled sadly as he stared at the faded “E” in the wood. With a trembling hand, he brought his knife up and began to freshen it up. He wanted to make sure the marks never disappeared. Just like his love would never disappear.
Richie was in love with Eddie. He knew that for a fact now and was no longer afraid to admit it. He loved Eddie Kasprak and wanted the world to know. If only it wasn’t too late for Eddie to know himself.
A deep sadness started to seep through Richie’s body once more. He tried to stand up, but found that he could no longer move. It was like some invisible force was grabbing onto him.
“Rich! Richie!” he heard a distant voice cry out. “Eds?” he thought suddenly. Was that his Eds calling out to him? No, it couldn’t be. Eddie was dead.
“I did it, Richie!” the voice continued. “I think I killed It! I really think I did!”
Suddenly Richie was back on the ground beneath Derry. An excited Eddie was sitting on top of him, shaking him. What was going on? Why was he back here? What was...
Richie suddenly realized when and where he was and grabbed Eddie mid-sentence and rolled. The two of them toppled over and landed with a thud in the cavern where Eddie had gone flying last time.
“Eds!” Richie cried out. “Are you okay?” he asked, panicked. “Wha-?” Eddie began, before looking up and seeing the claw waving in the air. He cowered into Richie for a second before realizing that it couldn’t reach him from where he was.
“I didn’t kill It,” he said sadly. Eddie stared miserably at Richie, all his fire from a few seconds before flickered out. “It didn’t work. I must not have believed hard enough,” he apologized.
Richie shook his head and threw his arms around Eddie. “You saved my life,” he whispered. “I was trapped there and you brought me back. I’d be dead without you,” Richie assured Eddie.
“And I’d be dead without you,” Eddie protested, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I told you Richie. I’m just a bur-“ Richie grabbed Eddie’s shoulders, cutting him off before he could start beating himself up.
“I only knew what to do because I lost you last time,” he argued. Eddie stared at him in confusion. “Last time I wasn’t ready for it and you died. We defeated It, but lost you. It was horrible! I don’t know how I’m back now, but when I saw where we were, I just...”
Richie choked back a sob. He had no idea how he had been granted this second chance. He was grateful for it, but he was terrified it was all just a dream.
Suddenly, Richie felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. He looked up to and found all of the other Losers gathered around him and Eddie. They must have run over to make sure he and Eddie were all right.
“You saw it too, didn’t you?” Bev asked gently, giving his shoulder another squeeze. Richie frowned. “Saw what?” he asked, confused. “The deadlights,” Beverly explained. “They show you dark glimpses of possible futures. I saw all of us die so many times and in so many horrible ways. You saw something horrible too, didn’t you?”
Richie nodded miserably and pulled Eddie in close. “We lost Eddie,” he sobbed. “We defeated It, but lost Eddie. Eddie saved my life, figured out how to defeat It, then died while we were all fighting. He died, Bev! We...” Richie broke off again into another sob as Eddie wrapped his arms tightly around Richie in return.
“The visions are only a possible future,” Beverly comforted, wrapping her own arms around both of the men. “If Eddie is okay now, then it seems you adverted that one.”
Richie nodded wordlessly, his face still pressed tightly up against Eddie. Did this mean that he really did have a second chance here? Was Eddie really going to live?
A horrible screech from It reminded Richie that it wasn’t going to be that simple. Mike seemed to realize it too. “You said we defeated It in your vision, right?” he asked, bringing everyone back to the task at hand.
Richie nodded solemnly. “Eddie told us how to do it,” he explained. “Right now It is a giant monster, so even a powerful weapon isn’t strong enough. But when It took the form of a leper, Eddie was very nearly able to choke him out, all on his own.” Riche paused for a moment to beam at Eddie.
Mike’s eyes lit up with understanding. “So it’s only as powerful as the form it takes,” he realized. Richie nodded. “So if we can shrink it down to something less dangerous, we can defeat it,” Bev chimed in.
“The tunnel!” Bill exclaimed. “If we lure it through the tunnel, it will need to shrink down to fit. Is that what we did in your vision?” he asked, turning to Richie expectantly, yet Richie only shook his head and grinned. “It’s simpler than even that,” he continued. “It’s power comes from our fear. We just need to believe it’s not that strong.”
The Losers looked around at each other for a moment before understanding sank in. “So then, what are we waiting for?” Ben asked. “Let’s bring this clown down to size!”
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The battle played out much the same as it had in Richie’s visions, only this time, Eddie was there beside them. A part of Richie wanted to tell Eddie to stand back and seek cover. He had already done his part and didn’t need to put himself in danger again.
But Richie also knew that he could never do that. Eddie was so proud of himself when he thought he had killed the creature and so sad he realized It was still alive. Richie wanted to make sure Eddie had the satisfaction of helping to deliver the finishing blow. Eddie had spent too long incorrectly believing that he was weak and Richie would be damned if he endorsed it too.
Richie watched as It flickered between all the forms it used to torment them while the Losers shouted a volley of insults back at the creature. Everything seemed to be going perfectly until It took on a new form that Richie had never seem before. As the grotesque combination of spider and Sonia Kaspbrak stared back at him, Richie opened his mouth, ready to let out some stupid joke about sex. Only before he could, It reeled back as a bottle of pills smacked against its head.
“They’re called ‘placebos,’ dumbass!” Eddie shouted. His face was contorted in righteous indignation and Richie swore he was staring at an angel. Richie’s heart swelled in pride as he took the other man in. Eddie was clearly no longer afraid, or if he was still afraid, he wasn’t going to let it stop him. This was the man that Richie had fallen in love with, the Eddie he believed in with all his heart.
So the battle raged on, It’s agonized wails increasing with every new insult, until eventually the creature was nothing more than a shriveled up fetus with an ugly clown head. Richie watched in satisfaction as Mike reached down and ripped its heart out.
As if one, the Losers all reached out together and dug their fingers into the still-beating lump of muscle. As Richie’s fingers dug deep into the heart, he felt Eddie’s brush up against his. The smaller man’s face was contorted into rage, no doubt in a stubborn refusal to be beaten by the disgustingness of the situation.
Instinctively, Richie grabbed Eddie’s hand, his fingers stabbing further though the stringy muscle in the process. Eddie jumped for a second, then realized what was happening. He hesitated for a moment, but before Richie could let go, Eddie’s fingers tightened around Richie’s in return.
From the corner, It yelled out in agony once more. Encouraged, Richie and Eddie squeezed tighter, wriggling their hands around to cause more damage. The feeling of tearing apart the squishy muscle was disgusting to even Richie, but they didn’t stop.
Then, with a final cry, It and its heart began to disintegrate. The shriveled black pieces floated up into the air surrounding the Losers. Richie stood for a moment in awe, taking in the feeling of victory combined with the warmth of Eddie’s hand.
The suddenly the cavern began to shake. “Run!” Richie cried, snapping out of his trance. He took off, still clinging tightly to Eddie’s hand. The other Losers followed less than a step behind.
With only seconds to spare, the Losers managed to scramble back outside. The watched in awe as the old Neibolt house shuddered the collapsed in on itself. Richie stood, transfixed by the sight. Last time all he had wanted to do was run back in there and grab Eddie, but now Eddie was standing beside him, their hands still interlocked.
Then, before Richie knew what he was doing, he was kissing Eddie. The kiss was sort of disgusting due to the grime and dirt covering their faces, but Richie didn’t care. This was Eddie, after all. It was his living, breathing Eddie and that was all he needed.