Work Text:
Eddie sat on his porch, chin resting on his hand as he tapped his foot impatiently. He rolled his eyes as he checked his watch and let out a loud sigh. 5:15 p.m. Richie was late. This was their first date and he was late.
Maybe he’s just running late…This is Richie after all…
He nodded to himself, thinking how very likely the idea of Richie running late was. Richie was never on time to anything. Whether it be days at the quarry or even his own birthday party, Richie was never one to be on time. In fact, it had come to the point where the losers would even tell Richie a different start time just so he would get to things they all planned on time.
I’ll wait 15 more minutes. He’s probably on his way right now. Just 15 more minutes.
It was 6:30 p.m. when Eddie decided that maybe, just maybe, Richie wasn’t going to come. He stood up, brushing the bottom of his shorts off before turning back towards his front door. As he turned the knob on the door, he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
“I should have known he was messing around.” Eddie sighed as he opened his door and stepped in. “Of course he wasn’t serious about this. Of course it was a joke.”
Eddie made his way to his living room and as he plopped down on the couch, he was grateful that his mom was gone for the evening. He didn’t want her to see him. He didn’t want anyone to see the way his lip trembled and the way his eyes were scrunched up in an attempt to keep the tears threatening to pour form his eyes at bay.
He took deep breaths, willing himself to calm down. His mind wouldn’t let him though. Thoughts of Richie calling him “his love” and “cute” as he pinched his cheeks plagued his mind, aggravating the pain he felt in his chest.
You should have known better than to take one of his stupid jokes seriously.
He rubbed at his eyes, seconds away from falling apart at the realization that this was all just a joke to Richie. He didn’t mean any of the words he’d said to Eddie and he never would.
Great. This is great, actually. I don’t have to keep hoping, wishing, that he’d like me back. This is just the wake up call I needed. I finally know Richie will never-
A frantic knock at his door interrupted his thoughts, making him jump in surprise. He checked his watch again, reading 7:05 p.m., and squinted at the door. As he stood up and made his way to the door, he willed himself not to get his hopes up, not to think that the person on the other side of the door would be Richie.
Eddie opened the door cautiously, quickly stepping aside when Richie pushed and stumbled his way in, a giant, red monkey cradled in his arms. “Hey Eds, sorry I’m late!”
“ Where’d you get that ? ” Eddie completely ignored Richie’s comment as he pointed at the monkey, making a face at the bright red color of the fur. There was only one place he could have gotten that, Eddie knew that, he didn’t even have to ask. “ How much money did you waste this time? ”
“Listen,” Richie began as he walked towards Eddie’s living room and dumped the monkey on the sofa. He turned towards Eddie and held onto his hand, looking at him with wide eyes. “That’s not important right now. What’s important is that I apologize.”
“For what?” Eddie asked, feigning ignorance. They both knew what this was about, but he wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily. Richie had taken this joke too far, and for that Eddie would make him plead for forgiveness.
“What do you mean for what?” Richie furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, as he stepped closer to Eddie. “Our date, remember? I’m really fucking late!”
“Oh, you were serious?” Eddie asked, folding his arms defensively as he looked away. “I thought it was just a joke. Like all the other times.”
“What-No Eds I-” Richie stuttered as he worked to find the right words to say. He was panicking now, Eddie could see that clearly. He peered back over at him, raising his eyebrow and tilting his head at Richie as if to say “explain yourself”.
“I-I was at the arcade-”
“No shit, I couldn’t tell.” Eddie scoffed as he pointedly looked at the monkey.
“I was at the arcade,” Richie began again, as he looked at Eddie with pleading eyes, begging him to listen. “because there was something I absolutely had to win.”
“So you ditched me, making me think you stood me up just so you could win a stupid stuffed animal that probably cost you all of your money??”
“Fuck-No Eds!” Richie said as he pulled a reluctant Eddie towards him, hugging him as closely as Eddie would allow. Eddie could feel the way Richie’s heart was beating fast and wondered if it was from nerves or something else. “I was trying to win something for you.”
“If it’s that monkey, I don’t want it.” Eddie said as he let himself relax into Richie’s arms. He buried his head in the soft fabric of Richie’s shirt and closed his eyes. As much as he wanted to stay mad at Richie, the fact that he had been late, not because he had forgotten about their date or because it was a joke, but because he had been trying to get something for Eddie, put him at ease. This was real. Richie was here, holding him and telling him everything he wanted to hear, had been hoping to hear.
“Don’t say that about our son Eds.” Richie scolded as he gently pulled away from Eddie. Richie looked at him with a huge smile, and Eddie felt as if he could melt. At his words, at the way he was looking at Eddie with the fondest expression he had ever seen on Richie.
“Oh, we have a son now? I don’t remember agreeing to that.” Eddie teased, matching Richie’s smile with one of his own. “There’s no ring on my finger so I refuse to believe this child is mine.”
“Ok, first of all, that doesn’t make sense.” Richie laughed as Eddie punched him lightly on the arm, a whispered “shut up” escaping his lips. “You don’t have to be married to someone to have kids with them.”
“I know, I was just jok-”
“Second of all,” Richie interrupted him, refusing to let him play off his joke. “If a ring is what you want, does this work for you?”
Richie reached into his pocket, pulling out a chunky rhinestone ring, and presented it to Eddie on one knee. Eddie’s eyes widened at this, cheeks flushing at the sight before him.
“What the hell Richie!” Exclaimed Eddie as he continued to stare at the ring presented to him. “We haven’t even had our first date yet.”
“Yeah, well…” Richie grinned at him, that fond expression once again making it’s way back onto his face as if it was reserved only for Eddie. “When have you ever known me to do anything in the proper order anyway?”