Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A week after Eddie threw out his pills, his body caught fire. It started deep in his stomach and worked its way to the tips of his fingers and toes.
Hi mother found him curled on his bed and sweating up a storm, hoarse cries of pain making a staccato rythm. She swept him up in the car and sped the whole way to the hospital.

The doctors put Eddie in an induced coma when it became clear what had happened. After having all instincts and hormones blocked for years, his body had hit a premature heat and hit it hard. His mother sat next to his bed, defiant about her choices, cursing the newfound bravery Eddie had picked up, if he had only continued to take the medication she gave him, this would not have happened.

It took five days for Eddie to wake up. In that time Sonia had barred anyone from visiting and she sat at his bedside constantly, keeping vigil. When his eyes fluttered open, she gasped and grabbed his face,pressing kisses to his cheeks, as he weakly pushed her away, disorientated.
She was forced to stand back as a doctor came in to check Eddie over, he hummed lightly under his breath and smiled reassuringly at Eddie who returned it gently.
"I think you'll be fine Mr Kaspbrak" He said, looking over Eddies chart. "Congratulations on your presentation as an omega! Now due to these circumstances, I wont be prescribing an suppresants..." He cut off at Sonias abrupt squawk.
"No suppresants? No, I really think you should prescibe suppresants. I cant have him going through heat every month! attracting filthy Alphas and letting them do whatever they please!"
Eddie flushed bright red and opened his mouth to speak but the doctor held up a calming hand.
"I will not be prescribing anything, Mrs Kaspbrak, youre need to control your son through medication is how you ended up here in the first place. Eddie has presented prematurely and until his body gets used to all the new hormones we wont be suppressing anything. Im sure Eddie is more than capable of taking care of himself during heats."
He gave Eddie a pointed look and chuckled under his breath when Eddie flushed again. Then ignoring Sonia who looked a little shellshocked he left the room, saying Eddie would be discharged the following afternoon.
Eddie watched his mother turn a horrendous shade of violet, she turned her beady eyes on Eddie.
"Do not think this gives you any right to do anything with any filthy alphas Edward, when the time is right, well find you a lovely woman and youll get married and have babies and live a respectable christian life." she waved a fat finger with a ring two sizes two small in his face and then she plunked herself down in the chair she had vacated earlier and buried her face in a magazine, leaving Eddie to his own devices.
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It took a week after he was discharged before his mother let him out of the house again, she had fought against it but it was the beginning of Summer and Eddie was not spending it inside helping his mother cut things she liked out of magazines only for her to never buy any of it.
The minute she caved, Eddie was flying out the door and hopping onto his bike, ignoring his mother as she yelled at him to be careful. He raced down the road and over to the best cafe in town, Penny's. There was a decent chance that this is where the rest of the losers would meet up before deciding on plans and he breathed a sigh of relief when he caught sight of Richie through the window, gesturing wildly as he spoke to Bev who was laughing at whatever he said. He dropped him bike againstthe wall and walked through the door, the little bell tinkling overhead. Hed barely made it through the door before he was being tackled in a hug.
"We thought you died Spaghetti Head!" Richie yelled and Eddie winced and leaned away.
"Jeez Trashmouth, could you talk any louder?" He asked and then he slapped his hand over Richie mouth as he opened his mouth to prove that yes he could, in fact talk louder.
Richie licked his hand and Eddie pulled away with a yelp of disgust, wiping his hand on Richies shirt. Richie pulled him closer and breathed in deep, "You smell so sweet Eds" He commented. "Like warm honey."
Eddie pushed him away and flushed. "Dont call me that!" He stormed over to the table that the rest of the losers were sitting at and curled in close to Stan. Richie trailed after, face vaguely pink but he looked happy, sliding in next to Bev across from Eddie.
"Im glad youre back Eds, no one puts up with me quite like you"
And he said it so genuinely and with that big goofy smile of his with his big front teeth and oversized glasses, that Eddie just couldnt help but smile back.

Chapter Text

Eddie really loved his friends.
No one acted any different than before he presented. It was refreshing since his mother had doubled her protective efforts in an attempt to keep Eddie from being bred by some out of control alpha. She ranted at him constantly and Eddie made the mistake of rolling his eyes once and wasnt allowed out of the house for three days. Now he just nodded politely and said yes mummy, at the appropriate times. To say he was dreading his next heat was an understatement.
But in the clubhouse that Ben had built, he found peace. These were people who loved him unconditionally. It was a pleasant feeling. And thats where he hit a slight downside, it was the only time they ever acted differently but when Eddie was feeling particularly content his pheremones got incredibly strong, a sweet warm honey scent would feel the room and generally he would be glomped by one of the losers. It had made him flush in the beginning but Bev had assured him that it wasnt a sexual thing, he just smelled happy and safe and it was something that most of the losers were lacking so of course they wanted to be close.
Eddie was softened after that and allowed them to lay over him, running his fingers through hair and lacing his fingers with someone elses. It was nice feeling so needed even if Richie teased him even as he leaned into the touches.

It started with Bev.
Sweet Beverly who burned so brightly. Until one day Eddie found her in the clubhouse, having arrived early for the meetup to doa quick clean. It was like someone had sucked all the oxygen from the room and Bevs light had gone out. She was sobbing in the corner, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Eddie scrambled over quickly, taking note of the bruise that was blooming on her cheek.
"Bevvy, what happened?" Eddie kept his voice quiet and level and kept a safe distance from her. Her scent was slightly different than usual.
She looked at him with red eyes and opened her arms so he could hold her close.
He scrambled over and pulled her in, he rubbed their cheeks together and without realising, started to release that sweet scent. He had time to be mildly surprised before Bev had buried her face in his neck and breathed in deep, a shuddering breath that made Eddies heart break a little bit.
"I presented."
"Is that bad?"
Bev shook her head where it was pressed against Eddies neck.
"My dad was mad, he wanted me to be an omega like my mom"
"And you presented as a beta." Eddie has figured out that much, Bevs scent was very nearly unchanged, missing the sweetness of omega and the earthiness of an Alpha. It suited her.
Bev was fiery, absolutely but she was soft and caring also.
"He hit you?" He felt Bev stiffen in his arms at the anger in his voice.
"You cant do anything Eddie!" she panicked. "If we tell, they make me move with my aunt and I wont see you guys ever again!"
Eddie shushed her and promised not to say anything. They made up a lie that Bev had been cornered by 2 girls from school to explain the bruise to the other losers. They had been furious but Bev begged them not to do anything, and she knew these boys would do anything for her. She made eye contact with Eddie and gave a watery smile.
Eddie felt so conflicted and it made his scent sour, he got a few strange looks but they mostly chalked it up to Eddie being upset about Bev and they were right but they didnt know the whole story. He didnt want her back in that house but he couldnt make her do something just because he wanted her too.
When they left later that night, Eddie offeredto walk her home, ignoring the put out look on Bens face. They walked in silence, their hands linked together.
"Promise me Im doing the right thing Bev."
She turned to look at him and took his face in her hands.
"Thankyou Eddie, I promise Ill be ok. I can handle this and then in a few years I never have to see him again."
She pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss and then rubbed their noses together in an eskimo kiss.
"I love you Eddie Kaspbrak, youre amagnificent friend"
and then she was walking up the stairs to her apartment.
Eddie let out a little sigh and then headed home, a small smile as he ran his fingers over his lips.

Chapter Text

Ben followed beverly. But that's not anything new.
He showed up a week after she presented and announced it with a small smile.
"I'm a beta"
They all congratulated him, Richie cracking some joke about how he thought Ben would've been an omega but Eddie thought this was perfect.
Like Beverly, Ben had a beautiful mix of strong and sweet, it made sense for him to be a beta.
Eddie approached him quietly once everyone had settled down in Bills room, reading comics and talking in small groups. He approached Ben and snuggled into his side, he let his pheromones leak around the room, pleased by the returning calmness of both Ben and Bev.
" I'm proud of you" he whispered and was pleased by Ben's blush.
"Hey, do we all get cuddles? Cause I could use one over here!" Richie was sitting on bills bed with his back against the headboard and his arms wide open.
"Be gentle though, I think I'm still sore from seeing your mom last night!"
There was a chorus of groans all over the room and Eddie pulled off one pristine shoe and lobbed it at Richie's head.
"Fuck you Richie! See if you ever get a hug from me ever again"
Richies eyes went wide and he let out a laugh.
"Aww, come on Eddie spaghetti, you know I'm only joking, you're the only Kaspbrak for me"
Eddie let out a small sigh and leaned back more comfortably into Ben's side but he was smiling and that sweet honey smell was still drifting around the room.
"Maybe when you present you'll get a hug" Ben said casually.
"We can only hope" Richie joked, except it didn't sound like he was fully joking, his eyes met Eddie's and he smiled softly. Eddie felt his cheeks go pink and he buried his face in the first comic he could grab.
He heard Beverly laugh under her breath and what sounded like Stan let out a long suffering sigh. But Ben wrapped an arm around his shoulder and squeezed him gently.
"You don't need to be embarrassed, there's nothing wrong with loving someone" he mumbled it quietly, looking past Eddie, at Beverly. Eddie nodded and replied
"I know"
And then the room was quiet as they read, Richie was twirling a pencil in one hand but entirely focused. Stan and Bill were sitting side by side, Stan drifting off into a shallow sleep, head resting on bills shoulder. Mike was also most of the way asleep, stretched out in the strip of sunlight streaming through the window. Bev was shooting looks at Ben when she thought he wasn't looking who was doing the same with her. Eddie felt full and safe.
He felt completely at home.

Chapter Text

Richie had stormed off. That's what Stan told Eddie when he met up with the losers one afternoon.
"He was pissy all day" Stan sighed. And that was unusual, Richie always had jokes to tell and it was incredibly rare to see him angry or upset. He hid his feelings under silly voices and your mom jokes very well.

Eddie frowned. It felt so wrong with Richie there and no one could pin point exactly what had set him off. Eddie's scent must have soured because he saw bill and Stan(who were sitting closest to him) scrunch up their noses at the smell.

Eddie stood and announced that he was going to find Richie.

"Careful, he might bite your head off" Stan muttered. He and Richie had been friends the longest aside from Eddie and Bill and Eddie suspected that Richie's little outburst had hurt his feelings more than he'd be willing to admit.

"I'll take my chances" he replied before setting off on his bike to find Richie.

He biked over to Richie's nice two story house and dropped his bike on the front lawn. He looked up at the quiet house and jogged up the steps to the front door. He knocked and waited. It didn't take long for Maggie tozier to answer the door, looking as imaculate as always. She didn't seem surprised to find Eddie standing on her doorstep.

"He's upstairs, but I'll warn you, he's not in a good mood"

Eddie smiled at her "I know"

She moved aside to let Eddie in, watched him as he walked up the stairs to Richie's room. She smiled softly before turning to go back to her office.

Eddie didn't knock. Didn't want to give Richie an opportunity to turn him away. That was probably a mistake.
The room smelt musky and heavy. Mouthwatering really, something so fundamentally Richie that it made Eddie's knees go a little weak. He was about to walk back out of the room when Richie jumped up from where he'd been curled on the bed, and grabbed at Eddie's wrist, grip just a touch too tight.

"You presented." Eddie stated, twisting his hand in Richie's grip. Richie huffed, he looked terrible. His hair was sweaty and sticking to his forehead and his cheeks were a bright pink colour like he'd been running for a long time.

"You noticed that, did you?"
Eddie startled at Richie's tone. He never spoke to Eddie like that. And Eddie could feel the need to submit, to make his friend happy again. And without any consent from his brain, he could smell that familiar honey scent. He could see the moment Richie smelled it. His body lost its tension and he loosened his grip on Eddies wrist.
"I'm sorry eds,I'm so sorry. I don't understand what's got me all angry"
He pulled Eddie in and buried his face in his neck, where the scent was it's strongest.
"I..it's normal for alphas to experience anger when they present" Eddie stuttered out, pressing closer.

"You'll have to apologize to Stan, you know." Eddie tried to pull away but Richie's grip tightened around his waist and a small growl erupted from his throat. Eddie went pliant and felt a responding purr build up, trying to placate the alpha.

"I will, I promise but promise that you'll stay a while? I feel so much better with you here" Richie pleaded, rubbing his lips gently across the skin of Eddie's neck.

"Okay, I'll stay, but only for a little while"

Richie let out a pleased sound and pulled Eddie over to his bed where he pulled the blanket over them both and tucked Eddie in the curve of his body, back to chest. Happy Rumbles filled the room from Richie's chest and their mixed scents filled the room.

Eddie felt at home. And before he knew it, he was asleep.

Chapter Text

Eddie woke up, soaked through with sweat, Richie snoring gently behind him. He looked at his watch and sat up straight when he realised it was 8:00. His mother was going to kill him, he was supposed to home an hour ago. He pulled himself from Richies grip, thankful that he stayed asleep, snuffling into the warm spot that eddie had left behind. he stumbled down the stairs, blushing slightly at the knowing look on Maggies face and biked his way home as fast as he could.
He walked into his house with a feeling of panic grwoing in his chest. it was silent, not even the sounds of his mothers tv shows.
"Where have you been Edward?"
Eddie swallowed and cleared his throat.
"Just with Richie mama, we fell asleep, thats all."
His mother stalked closer and grabbed his chin with a pudgy hand, making him look at her.
"You reek of alpha, Edward." she sneered. Eddie swallowed again, his mouth feeling awfully dry.
"Richie is an alpha, but we didnt do anything! we just slept!" his voice was saturated in desperation and his scent had soured with fear, his mothers eyes were cold.
she released his chin, only to pull her hand back and deliver a sharp slap to Eddies cheek.
"What did I say, Edward? No son of mine will spend his time sleeping with filthy alphas! dod you want to be used? think of all the diseases you could get from sex Edward!" she was quickly turning a violent purple and her hands were shaking. Eddie left his head down, eyes staring at a small coffee stain on the mat in their living room.
"Richie isnt that kind of alpha."
His mother stopped her tirade and glared at Eddie.
"You dont know anything."
And then she stalked away to her room.
Eddie felt awfully alone.
he let out a shaky breath and then trudged to his room, he built a small nest on his bed, made of stolen clothing that his friends had left behind at one time or another. He pulled a hoodie on, one that was atleast 3 sizes too big, but then, Richie had always worn his clothes baggy so it wasnt surprising that he was swimming in it. he pulled the sleeves over his hands and used it to wipe the tears from his cheeks. Ignoring the stinging from his mothers slap.
He went to sleep wishing he was still cocooned by Richies warmth.