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When Eddie was near, Richie’s hands shook, and that’s how he knew he was in love.
In retrospect, he supposed it was sort of obvious; his not-so-platonic feelings for his best friend. But the emotions still hit him like a giant truck, and the feeling of want became almost unbearable.
Because every time he saw Eddie, he wanted nothing more than to just reach out and pull him close. He found himself making excuses to touch Eddie. Pinching his cheeks while teasing him, ruffling his hair, or walking close enough that their hands would sometimes brush against each other’s were usually his main go-to’s.
Whenever Eddie picked a fight with him about the hammock, he made sure to fight back. Truthfully, if Eddie really wanted Richie to get out of the hammock and give him a turn, he would get right up and sit somewhere else. But he knew that if he acted stubborn enough, Eddie would roll his eyes and crawl in with him, and on the rare occasion that they were in the clubhouse alone, Eddie would skip the fight altogether and join Richie in the hammock, laying next to him so that their shoulders were touching instead of down by his feet like he did when the rest of the Loser’s were around.
Despite all of the friendly touches that still made Richie’s cheeks heat up just slightly, he still felt like Eddie was untouchable.
Even now, as Eddie rolled over in his sleep and had part of Richie’s shirt balled up in his fist. He’s as untouchable as the stars in the sky, and yet, Richie was still reaching out.
He had crawled through Eddie’s window tonight, smiling the whole bike ride over because it was Friday, and there was no school the next day and he just knew that Eddie would be upset in his room because his mom wouldn’t let him do anything or go anywhere.
He daydreamed being his Eds’ knight in shining armor, rescuing him from the prison he called home and biking away to do something rebellious and fun.
He knew that these were just silly daydreams, and he also knew that at sixteen years old he was a little too old to be thinking of such things.
Not like that stopped him, though.
He may not be able to pull Eddie away from his house, but he could join him inside, and offer any sort of comfort he could. Richie took great pride in the fact that when Eddie was upset, he was usually the only person that could cheer him up.
His heart swelled when he knocked on Eddie’s bedroom window and saw his brown eyes peering out at him a few seconds later, watching as they filled with excitement and then quickly switched to concern once Eddie remembered that Richie was about fifteen feet up in a tree.
“Get inside! Don’t fall though, be careful. Stop you dumb ass, you’re gonna fall!” he pulled Richie inside and began his whole speech about how bad broken arms hurt and how, “even a fall from six feet is enough to kill someone”, and whatever else.
Eddie couldn’t hide the unmistakable joy in his eyes though, and Richie hoped that he himself wasn’t so obvious about his undeniable admiration for the other boy. “I’ve been sneaking in since I was eight, Eds. I think if I was gonna get hurt it would have happened a long time ago.”
Eddie huffed and rolled his eyes, but still smiled nonetheless. “Don’t call me that. What are you doing here?”
Richie straightened up his shoulders and began the british guy impersonation. “Why I’m here to rescue you from ye mum, of course! Can’t have ya holed up in your room the whole night unless I’m with you.”
“You really wanna spend a Friday night inside with me?”
“Well, yeah.” Richie said, reverting back to his normal voice. “And, you know, I think Mrs. K is expecting me tonight anyways so-”
Eddie groaned. “Oh my God, shut up, Richie.”
Richie laughed and threw his bag on the floor before flopping onto the bed. Eddie picked up his bag and unzipped it. “What did you bring?” He asked, despite already going through the contents.
“Just a few sleepover necessities.”
“Candy...candy...cookies...did you happen to bring a toothbrush by chance?”
“No, what for?”
Eddie made a face and sat on the bed next to his friend, shaking his head. “You’re lucky I just bought you one the other day, because I had a feeling this would happen again.”
“You bought me a toothbrush?”
“You buy the sugary candy and sweets, I buy the personal hygiene products. It’s a system.” Eddie joked. “You should never skip brushing your teeth. Did you know that-”
Richie missed the rest of his speech, too lost in the thought of: Oh my God he bought me a toothbrush. That’s like something couples do. Wait, is it? No, that’s stupid. But he did see a toothbrush and wanted to get it for me. Fuck does my breath smell bad all the time and he’s too embarrassed to tell me? Dammit, of course he would notice that he’s Eddie.
“Richie...Rich...Richie!”
He blinked and saw Eddie waving a hand in front of his eyes.
“Where the fuck did you go, dude?”
“Sorry,” Richie shook his head, attempting to shake away his thoughts. “Just thinking about your mom.”
“You’re so not funny, dude.” Eddie threw an oatmeal-cream-pie at him. “Don’t make me feel bad about myself because I’m the only one eating.”
“Not a chance Eds!” He threw the oatmeal-cream-pie back at him and reached into the bag for some chips.
“That’s not my name, fucknut.” Eddie shoved him back playfully, making Richie’s heart speed up just a little bit.
The two laughed and joked around, (quietly, so Eddie’s mom wouldn’t hear), until Eddie had practically eaten himself into a sugar coma.
Which leads them to where they are right now: Eddie snuggling closer to Richie’s chest in his sleep, while Richie’s hands shook worse than they ever had before. He let out a small breath, and whispered the other boy’s name softly, for no reason other than he liked the way it sounded, coming off his lips so delicately.
He smiles, and thinks again about how nice it would be to lay with Eddie and be allowed to reach up and curl his (shaking) hand into his hair and maybe even kiss his cheek gently.
Eddie begins to stir and Richie freezes, worried that somehow Eddie had been able to hear his thoughts. “Mmm...Rich?”
Richie took a shaky breath. “Yeah, Eds?”
The other boy let go of Richie’s shirt and rubbed his eyes, groggily. He leaned up while Richie leaned down to hear him. They were close. Close enough to kiss, Richie noted. and for a second, it seemed like that was the case. Eddie’s eyes travelled over his body, coming to rest on his lips. “I...I never brushed my teeth. And you didn’t either. Were you gonna let me fall asleep?” He jumped out of bed, pulling Richie with him. “Did you not listen to me earlier?”
Too stunned from the almost-kiss, all Richie could manage was a small shake of his head. Eddie frowned, expecting a snide remark, not silence. “Richie?” He looked down and then back up, trying to get his friend to meet his eyes. “Your hands are shaking...you’re scaring me, dude. What’s wrong?”
“Eddie,” he breathed out slowly, wiping his hands on his shorts. “Eddie...”
“Rich, you’re scaring me.” Eddie repeated, reaching out and grabbing his friends’ wrist.
Richie began panicking, because the last thing he wanted to do was scare Eddie. In the back of his mind, he knew that he was acting weird, and unlike himself, and he knew that if he acted quick enough, he could pass it off as being tired.
But all he could focus on was Eddie’s grip on his wrist and the curve of his nose and that his hands were shaking, his hands were shaking, his hands were shaking.
He cleared his throat, and gave his best attempt at a smile. “Do you,” his voice was just above a whisper. “do you ever get the feeling that you’re meant for someone? Like that there’s a person out there made for you, and the thought of being with anyone else is actually sickening?”
Eddie nodded slowly. “Yeah, I...I know what you mean.” He was speaking slow; so different from his usual fast paced tone. Richie suddenly understood why he was scaring Eddie earlier.
“You ever just, just want this person so bad that when you’re around them, your hands just, just shake?”
Eddie’s eyes flashed down to Richie’s hands. “Richie...”
“I love you, Eds. I think I always have. And I know, that there is no one else that I want more.” His heart was beating out of his chest, and he seriously thought he might have been on the verge of a heart attack.
He blinked twice when he saw the corners of Eddie’s moth twitch up into a smile. He pulled Richie closer and rested one hand on his cheek, and had the other around his neck. “Richie,” he leaned up. “don’t call me Eds.” On that note, he closed he distance between them, pressing their lips together in a wonderful first kiss.
Richie pulled away after a few seconds, a wide grin that he couldn’t drop on his face. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
Eddie made a face. “Don’t remind me, Trashmouth.” He leaned upon and pressed a quick kiss to his lips again. “And I do too. Love you. A lot.”
Richie cupped one of Eddie’s cheeks, massaging his thumb along his temple. He laughed lightly, and leaned back down to get another kiss.
His hands still shook.