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A lot of things had led to this quiet, beautiful moment in Richie Tozier's life, Eddie's head in his lap, the smaller boy looking up at him with glazed over eyes, a smile quirking up the corners of his lips. Richie didn't think he was being dramatic when he thought that maybe everything had led to them being here, but he could narrow it down to specifics if he was pressed.
- He'd done pretty well in high school and been accepted to plenty of schools, but a scholarship and the fact that his mom and dad were alumni has made this school an obvious choice.
- He'd met a great group of people his freshman year, and hung out with them whenever he was given the chance, that group including the small, fiery, sweet, and thoroughly interesting Eddie Kaspbrak
- He realized, after having a single moment alone with Eddie on a stairwell when he wasn't at his best, that he had a huge crush on him and immediately run to his friend Beverly and had a panic attack. He never told her exactly what had happened, those were Eddie's secrets, but he was so gone for Eddie at this point that he'd had to tell someone or the words would end up spilling out at the worst time, and neither of them needed that.
- After months of pining, Bev had texted him that her boyfriend Ben had invited Eddie to this party, and Eddie, uncharacteristically, had decided to come.
Richie had shown up to the party oddly early, when there was almost no one there. He wasn't the first to arrive, he wasn't a complete sap, but he was too nervous to sit around his dorm. Eddie hadn't gotten there until around half an hour later, and the second Richie saw him, the panic was back. He didn't have any plan, he just wanted to be near Eddie, but when Ben left him at the makeshift countertop bar after spotting Bev across the room, Richie couldn't bring himself to walk over. They hadn't been alone since that night in the stairwell, Richie avoiding it since even one second of him being close to Eddie by himself had led to an embarrassing overstep. He'd kissed him, on the top of his head, and sure, that could be taken as comfort, but Richie had felt to obvious, so exposed with that simple gesture, that he'd run off to have a panic attack on the floor for Bev's tiny studio.
So when he saw Eddie searching the room for any familiar face, he fled, looking for somewhere to calm down. He'd planned to head out the back and smoke a joint, but sometime since he'd arrived at the party, rain had started to come down, a steady downpour deterring him from the solace of the fresh air. So he sat on the wicker couch on the screened in porch and took out his bag, setting a pre-rolled joint on the table and patting his pockets, looking for his lighter. He was still looking when Eddie stepped out onto the porch with him, a red cup in his hand and an uncertain smile on his face.
He couldn't believe his luck then, and now, after the joint had been shared and feelings had spilled out, he thought he might be the luckiest guy ever. He looked down at Eddie with an expression he knew betrayed every ounce of fondness he had held back. "How're you feelin', Eds?"
"Hmmm?" He hummed in response before finding the words. "Good. Wispy."
Richie laughed, brushing his fingers through the hair on Eddie's forehead. "Wispy, huh? Hitting you a little harder now?" Eddie had pulled back from kissing him when the mixture of alcohol and smoke had finally hit full force, saying his head felt like it was floating off, and Richie had gotten him to lay down, realizing that they'd gotten a little carried away.
"Mike makes really strong drinks." He mumbled, closing his eyes with a smile as Richie played with his hair. "That feels really good. I like having your hands in my hair."
"Good. I like it, too." Richie couldn't hold the softness back, knowing it permeated his voice. But they were alone out here, undisturbed, and he could be as soft as he wanted.
The porch door opened again, disturbing their bubble, but Eddie didn't move. Richie looked up and saw Ben standing in the doorway, looking slightly disheveled and a bit frantic, until he saw Eddie laying in Richie's lap and relaxed. "Oh, good. I was worried he was mad I'd left him alone. You guys good?" There was a glint in his eye like maybe he knew how Richie felt about Eddie(Bev could never keep a secret from Ben) or maybe, as Eddie's roommate, he'd been clued in on how Eddie felt for Richie.
Richie smiled and started to respond, but Eddie giggled and spoke first, "I'm so, so good, Ben. I think Richie's my boyfriend now, can you believe it?" He sounded so awed that it was a possibility, and Richie felt his heart soar.
"Oh?" Ben raised his eyebrows at Richie.
Richie felt like his smile could split his face open, "Believe it."
"Finally," Ben laughed. "Bev owes me ten bucks."
"Hey! You guys were betting on us?" Richie yelped indignantly, jostling Eddie, who only giggled harder.
"Look, Rich, you guys have been dancing around each other for months. At least I had more faith in you than Bev, she didn't think you'd get together until the end of the school year."
"Whatever, Benny boy." Richie laughed, "Hey, can you do me a favor, since you just won money by exploiting my feelings?" Ben barked out a laugh, but nodded. "Can you bring Eds a bottle of water, we may have overdone the rebellion by just a hair. I didn't realize how strong his drink was and then we smoked."
Ben's eyes widened a bit at the thought of Eddie pushing his own boundaries to that extent, but knew he wouldn't have if he didn't trust Richie to take care of him. "Yeah, I'll be right back. Do you guys need anything else while I'm in there?"
"Chips! Chips and maybe some brownies? And-" Eddie tried to sit up, but blinked hard, falling back onto Richie's lap with a sigh. "Oof." He mumbled, then resumed giggling, turning his face to Richie's stomach and wrapping his arms around his waist. Richie laughed with him, stroking his back as he shook with the giggles.
"Water and snacks, you got it. Hey Richie?" Ben stopped before he closed the door. Richie looked up at him. "I'm really happy for you guys."
Richie smiled, "Thanks, Ben."
When the giggles finally subsided, Eddie rolled back onto his back, looking up at Richie again. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself." He brushed his thumb over Eddie's cheek where it was pink from giggling so hard.
"You're so pretty." Eddie reached up and wrapped his finger in one of Richie's curls.
"Do you really think so?" He whispered, hopeful.
"I've always thought so." Eddie tugged on the curl as his hand fell back to his chest, the effort of keeping it aloft too much for him as the moment. "I like you so much, you know? I'm so happy."
"Sure that's not the pot and the alcohol making you happy, baby?" The pet name slipped from his lips like it was nothing, but apprehension stilled his hands in Eddie's hair. What if he didn't like it?
His worries were quickly swept away when Eddie's eyes and smile widened. "Baby? Shit, I need you to come down and kiss me because you're too far away and that was too cute not to kiss you right now immediately." He made grabby hands as Richie curled over him, giving him a soft kiss before sitting back up and resuming carding his hands through Eddie's hair. "It's not, by the way." He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "The pot and the alcohol, I mean. It's you. It's always been you. You make me happy." They smiled at each other for a long moment before Eddie furrowed his brow, scrunching his face up like he was thinking too hard. "Hey, um. Earlier, when I told Ben you're maybe my boyfriend? Was that... Is that okay?"
"Yeah, if… if that's what you want, Eds."
"But do you want to? I mean, I don't just want you to go with it because I want it, I don't want to push, or go too fast, or-" Eddie was starting to talk too quickly, stumbling over his own tongue.
"Hey, hey, shhh," Richie thumbed at Eddie's lips, stilling them mid-word. "I want it, too. I would love to be your boyfriend. I already asked you to meet my parents next summer, so if anyone is moving quick, it's probably me. We can set whatever pace we want. We just have to talk through it together whenever we take a step, yeah? Communicate, and all that."
"Talking is sort of hard right now. But later?"
"Later. We have all the time in the world, baby." They sat there, smiling goofily at each other until Ben came back with water, snacks, and Bev, who was annoyed she'd lost the bet, but also ecstatic that the boys had gotten together. The four of them were eventually joined by the rest of their friends and spent the rest of the party sitting by themselves on the porch, like losers.