Work Text:
“You know, if you don’t fucking sit down, I might change my mind about this whole thing, Richie.” Eddie stated, loudly enough for a couple next to them to give him a look, but quietly enough that his voice didn’t hold it’s normal amount of anger. He was flipping through a magazine (one brought from home, like hell was he touching the ones here; they were probably covered in human fecal matter and other shit) and Richie was pacing in front of him, looking annoyed and frustrated.
“We’ve been here for three fucking hours, how long does this shit take? And you would never change your mind little Eddie Bear. You love me.” The first part of his words showed his annoyance and the second part made a vein in Eddie’s head twitch so he just looked up to see Richie almost leering at him from behind his glasses. The same sort of glasses he’d worn since he was a kid. Eddie sort of wondered why he had never switched up the designs. He had never asked.
“I don’t love you. I tolerate you.” It was a lie and they both knew it, but it got the desired effect of Richie sliding back down onto the seat next to Eddie, his arm wrapping around the other man’s shoulders and pulling him close.
“You love me, Eddie Spaghetti as surely as Stan loves birds.”
Eddie made a face, looking up at the magazine to look at Richie’s sparkling, amused eyes behind his glasses. “I certainly hope Stan doesn’t fucking love birds that way, Rich.”
“Did you just say you love me more than Stan loves birds?” Eddie hesitated and then rolled his eyes, not deigning that with a response and instead pulling the magazine up to hide his face because everybody was fucking looking at them. Were they really the only interesting thing to look at in this damn place?
“I definitely don’t love you more than Stan loves birds.”
“That hurts.”
They fell quiet for a moment but Richie’s leg was bouncing. Eddie could tell the man was just itching to get up and move. He’d always been like this, ever since they were kids. Now that they were older, they both knew that Richie was ADHD but back as kids in the 80s, something like that was difficult to get diagnosed for in their small town. Though Richie was now taking medication for it, there were still times he had issues staying still and focused. Normally in times of excitement.
Like this time.
“It’ll be our turn soon.” Eddie promised, looking up at the number on the screen. Normally, the place barely had to turn those on and use them, but they were packed this morning, packed with couples excited to finally have something they never ever thought they would get.
Eddie hadn’t ever thought that they would get it. Even just a few years ago, it was unthinkable. Being fourteen and having figured out his sexuality in the 90s? Yeah, it wasn’t even an idea that he could’ve ever had.
But here he was, in the city’s office, in line for fucking marriage licenses after the Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal in all 50 states just the day before. And this was their way of celebrating.
Getting married.
Richie and he had been together since they were teenagers. A few times they had broken up, some of those break-ups had lasted years, but Eddie still counted them in the time that they were ‘together’. He had always known they’d end up together. Even when they broke up with each other, Eddie had never been worried because he’d knew they’d find their way back together. They just fit too well to not. Nobody understood Richie like Eddie and nobody understood Eddie like Richie.
And now it was 2015 and they were about forty and they had spent pretty much half their lives together and they were about to sign the contract stating they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together as husbands. More than friends, more than partners, bound in a way that Eddie had honestly felt like they’d been bound by forever. But now it would be legal.
And Eddie couldn’t be happier.
He thought Richie couldn’t be happier either, especially when Eddie hadn’t even heard the news until he got home from work and Richie pulled him into a kiss and told him that they would be getting married tomorrow. Richie didn’t even ask, just said they would be and Eddie said “okay” because it wasn’t really a question at all.
It was just the next step.
“Number One-Oh-Eight,” the lady called.
“That’s us!” Richie exclaimed, looking down at the ticket in his hand and Eddie’s head snapped up, dropping the magazine back into his bag that he had brought quickly.
“That’s us?”
Richie nodded, grasping onto Eddie’s hand and tugging him up. “Us--” the two of them quickly made their way up to the counter, the woman smiling kindly at them. “Hi, yes, hello, we’d like to apply for marriage licenses.”
-
“...And despite all of the clowns and the jokes about fucking your mom, I do truly love you, Eddie Kaspbrak, for all your hypochondria and cursing me out. I’ve loved you for about thirty years and I’m going to love you for thirty more and then some and when we die, I’m making sure that my cold, dead corpse is right next to yours so that I can bug the shit out of you in the afterlife too.”
Eddie had a smile on his face at Richie’s words. He wanted to laugh, especially as he glanced over at the judge’s and witness’ faces to see them looking astounded at the sort of vows that Richie had just given. But they were so perfectly Richie and Eddie would never have wanted anything different to come out of his mouth than those vows.
“Fuck, Rich, how am I supposed to follow that up?” He began, taking in a breath and nearly melting a little at the wide grin that the love of his life gave him. “We went through some shit. Growing up in the 80s and 90s with creepy clowns and Bowers chasing after us every day… there were some days I really wanted to hate you. All you did was tease me, but shit, Richie… arguing with you was some of the best times of my life--they still are, actually. Even if I have an eternal headache from dealing with you, it’s worth it. It’s so worth the headache to have you in my life, calling me stupid fucking nicknames that I absolutely hate and just… being here. With me. For me. And honestly, all of that bad, scary crap? I wouldn’t change a thing about any of it because it helped me fall in love with you even more than I knew was physically possible. And if you fucking annoy me in the afterlife, I’m going fucking kick you in the balls, Richie Tozier.”
They both laughed and there was silence from the judge for an extra minute before he cleared his throat. “Okay, well… then I must ask. Do you, Richard Tozier, take Edward Kaspbrak--”
“Yes--yes, hell yes, I do.” He nodded at the judge and then looked at Eddie with that gaze as if Eddie was the best thing he’d ever seen in his life. It made Eddie’s heart lurch. “I do. I want to marry you.”
“Hallelujah--” Eddie laughed just before the judge continued.
“And do you Edward Kaspbrak--”
“Fuck yes,” He cursed out without even waiting for half of the question, his hands clutching at Richie’s as he didn’t look away from the taller man for even a moment. “I want to fucking marry this guy for some reason. I do.”
“Then you two may kiss--oh, they’re already… okay.”
Neither of them had waited even a moment longer. Richie grasped at Eddie’s head, pulling the other up as he leaned down, their lips pressed together passionately. Eddie gasped, his arms sliding around Richie’s shoulders, clutching at his shirt. He couldn’t breath. It almost felt as if one of his ‘asthma’ attacks from when he was a kid, but Eddie didn’t want to pull back. He only wanted to cling onto Richie, kissing his husband until their lips fell off.
They were married and Eddie could hardly wait to spend the rest of his life being annoyed by his first love, his only love, his husband.