Work Text:
They had just finished watching the Conjuring 2 and were about to go to sleep. They had made a small fort out of some blankets and pillows and they were all set up to sleep on a big air mattress they'd blown up in the living room before the movie. Their backs were leaning against the edge of the couch behind the mattress and they were both under one huge blanket. After every jump scare in the movie, Eddie would a steal a little bit of the blanket and use it to hide his face and shield his eyes.
Before the movie began, Richie and Eddie were farther apart on the mattress than they had been when the movie ended. They hadn't even noticed it, but during the movie, the had been scooting closer to one another. This was mostly Richie trying to get some of the blanket back. They moved closer and closer until their thighs were touching and Richie had accidentally put his hand on Eddie's knee instead of his own. Neither of them seemed to notice anything until the heat underneath the blanket from being so close together had become noticeable. When Eddie felt Richie's hand squeeze his knee ever so slightly, he looked over at the boy but didn't complain so Richie left his hand there for the comfort of the both of them. Friends can do that, right?
The movie ended and they had shaken off the scares of the film by playing a friendly game of cards, which ended up not being so friendly when Eddie got jealous of Richie winning the game. He lunged forward, his knee knocking over the neatly shuffled and piled cards that Richie had just placed there. Eddie grabbed Richie's shoulders and pinned him to the ground with an angry expression on his face. He tried his best not to laugh but the boy underneath him burst out into a fit of giggles as Eddie tried to stay serious. He ultimately failed, laughing and almost collapsing onto Richie's chest. He caught himself on his elbows, which were on either side of Richie's shoulders.
The two boys just looked at each other, not saying anything because neither knew what to say. They just stared at each other and it wasn't until now that Eddie had realized how many freckles Richie had and Richie noticed the way Eddie's eyes crinkle up when he laughs really hard. Neither of them knew it, but they were both thinking about how pretty the other was. Richie was staring into Eddie's eyes while Eddie's eyes were roaming Richie's entire face. They went from his eyes, down to his nose, and finally rested upon his lips.
Their hearts started beating rapidly. Eddie propped himself up onto his hands instead of his elbows so he could be up a bit higher and to create a little distance. He was confused. He was confused as to why his heart was about to burst through his chest and he was confused as to why he wasn't moving from where he was perched on Richie's lap, his knees on either side of Richie's hips. They weren't laughing anymore. They were just stuck in this trance that they couldn't find their way out of. And they were confused. They knew this shouldn't be happening yet they were totally fine with letting it continue.
Eddie's trance was broken when Richie sat up with his hands on the floor behind him for support. He brought one hand up to touch Eddie's cheek and Eddie put his hands on Richie's shoulders again. It was Richie's turn now to look at Eddie's lips, desperately wanting to capture them with his own. When Richie wet his lips and started to lean in slightly, Eddie's eyes widened and he quickly climbed off of Richie's lap, his jaw open slightly in shock. He sat on the floor with a confused expression on his face and Richie looked a little hurt and shocked.
Richie opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a small, barely there whisper. "I'm sorry, Eddie."
Eddie looked up at the boy across from him. "Don't apologize, Rich. I-I think I wanted it, too. I just got.... scared."
A flash of sadness covered Richie's face and he pulled himself up to his knees. He crawled over to where Eddie had sat himself down and rested his hand on Eddie's knee again. It seemed to calm him earlier, so why not try again? Eddie couldn't take his eyes away from the hand on his leg until he felt a finger underneath his chin, pulling his head up to look Richie in the eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched up slightly and he said, "Eds, you don't have to be scared. Whatever you're feeling, I've got it too. I'm just as confused as you are." He paused. "There's no easy way to explain why my heart is beating the fastest it ever has right now."
All Eddie could do was stare at the pretty boy sitting in front of him. He wished he could just make a move and kiss him right now but he doesn't think he's ready for that just yet. Richie smiled, "It's late. Do you want to sleep? We don't have to talk about if if you don't want to." He rubbed the spot just above Eddie's knee and climbed under the covers on the air mattress. Eddie joined him, keeping just enough distance between the two.
A few minutes went by in silence and just as Richie was about to fall asleep, Eddie slowly leaned over him and planted a light kiss on the top of Richie's cheekbone. Eddie then quickly pulled back and laid back down, turning his back to Richie. "That was a promise for later, Rich," he said. It didn't take long at all for Eddie to fall asleep after that. Richie on the other hand, he was up for two hours, still feeling paranoid about what might be lurking in the darkness. He knew they should have watched a comedy instead of horror this late at night.
He was taken from his thoughts when he heard rustling coming from right next to him. Eddie started tossing and turning, looking like he was trying to get away from something. He started to mumble little words like "no" and "please don't". Richie even caught him saying his name a couple times. Richie was just about to gently shake Eddie's shoulder to try and wake him up when he suddenly sat straight up with a sharp gasp. He started breathing faster in attempt to catch his breath but only made his asthma act up. Richie knew exactly where to find his inhaler and quickly shoved it into Eddie's hand so that he could take the medicine. Richie sat next to Eddie and rubbed his back until his breathing was back to normal again and kept asking, "Are you okay, Eds," to which Eddie could only nod. He always felt embarrassed when he had an attack in front Richie. He knew Richie would never judge him for something that can't be controlled easily, but he still had his doubts sometimes.
"I'm sorry," Eddie finally choked out. He looked up at Richie, who had his brows furrowed in confusion.
He opened his mouth to speak, fishing for the right words. "Eddie, do not apologize for something like this. It's not your fault and I'm more than happy that I was here to help you. Trust me, you're not putting me out of my way when it comes to helping you."
"But I woke you up."
"No, you didn't."
There was a pause. "Then why are you awake? Was it the movie? You told me we should've watched a comedy instead but I pushed a horror movie on you. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry Rich."
"It's okay, Eds, I did agree to it remember? And no, it totally wasn't the movie. Horror movies aren't even scary." He let out a nervous sounding chuckle and mentally cursed himself out for making it sound that way.
"No, it is my fault because I know you're look looking into the pitch black room over there for no reason." Eddie couldn't help but smirk a little bit because he thought that Richie acting like he wasn't scared was adorable. He knew that Richie was feeling a little paranoid after watching that movie so late. He just wished he had listened when he was told they should watch a funny movie instead.
The two boys sat for few minutes just watching each other, making sure they were both feeling okay. Eddie laid back down on his back and patted the mattress to invite Richie to lay back down with him. He did just that, laying close enough to Eddie that their shoulders were almost touching under the heavy blanket.
Eddie could still tell that Richie's eyes were traveling down the dark hallways of his house, making sure there was nothing hiding away in the shadows of the doorways that were left open. "You know, Rich, you can tell me if you're scared. I won't laugh at you." He paused. "I just want to make sure you're feeling okay. Don't want you to lose sleep over it." He tuned onto his side to face Richie, who was still on his back and now staring at the ceiling.
Richie had a small frown etched into his features and he just said, "I'm okay, thank you, Eds."
"Why are you so insistent on calling me that? You know I hate it." Eddie pouted but couldn't help but chuckle when he saw the corners of Richie's lips just barely turn up.
A quiet laugh came from the taller boy and he said, "I call you that because I think you're so adorable when you're annoyed."
Eddie couldn't help but laugh. "Of course you would think that, Tozier," he said, trying to sound cool, when in reality his heart was beating one hundred miles per hour at the fact that Richie Tozier had called him adorable. He usually hated it when people called him that.
Richie turned to face Eddie and rested his hand on Eddie's cheek, his thumb running over the skin of his cheekbone. Eddie was so relieved that the light was off so that the blush on his neck and ears couldn't be seen. "Maybe I was a little scared. But you make it better," Richie said. He moved his hand down just a little and ran his thumb slowly over Eddie's bottom lip, forcing his lips to part and his eyes to flutter shut.
The only light in the room was from the dim tv that he left on a random music channel to play lowly while they slept, casting a blue tint across the room. Richie took in the peaceful, tired look on the boy's face in front of him. He marveled in the way his lashes were perfectly spread apart across his cheeks and found himself lost in the maze of freckles covering his face.
Richie took his hand from Eddie's face and placed it on his hip instead, rubbing it up and down the side of the boy's torso. "Turn around for me, yeah?" The innocent chocolate brown eyes peered up at him and his brow furrowed. However, he did what he was told, slowly rolling over onto his left side, his heart rate spiking once again.
He felt an arm drape over his waist and Richie's chest pressed against his back. Eddie fit perfectly. Richie's hand fell flat against Eddie's stomach and Eddie put his smaller hand on top of the larger one, Richie intertwining their fingers and squeezing.
"Is this okay for you, Eds." He wanted to make sure Eddie was completely comfortable before trying anything else.
Eddie let out a relieved sigh. "Yes, it's more than okay."
The feeling of Richie's hair tickling Eddie's jaw as he buried his face in Eddie's neck sent Eddie's heartbeat on a field day. Richie brought his legs forward to get tangled with Eddie's short ones. A pair of full lips pressed down onto Eddie's delicate shoulder and his breath hitched in the back of his throat. Richie noticed that right away. "This okay? Don't want to push you."
Eddie just nodded and felt Richie's lips in the same spot once again, this time feeling a slight pressure. Richie gently teethed at the skin there and sucked making Eddie yelp in surprise. This would surely leave a mark in the morning. Eddie would have to find some way to cover it before going home to his mother tomorrow. But that was the last thing on his mind. During this moment he only wanted to remember how Richie's soft lips felt attached to his neck. When he felt Richie's lips lift off of his skin, he let out a tiny whine. He flipped himself over and curled up into Richie's chest to hide his flustered face.
"Rich, when do your parents come back?"
The taller boy hummed in thought and it vibrated throughout his chest. "They won't be back until tomorrow night. We've got time."
Eddie sighed with relief. He didn't want this intimate moment with Richie to end. He wasn't ready to go back to pretending he was someone else. He just wanted to lay there with Richie forever if it meant he got to be this warm and content. Sleep finally came for both of them soon after they talked for a while. They fell asleep, Eddie's head on Richie's chest, his arms thrown over Richie's waist.
They were content. They felt warm and happy. Neither of them felt afraid anymore.