Work Text:
Eddie was laying on Richie’s bed waiting for his boyfriend to come back from his evening class. He was lazily flipping through all the apps on his phone when he heard a knock at the door. Smirking, he stood to answer, thinking it was Richie, having forgotten his keys in his mad dash out the door.
“Forgot your keys again, bab-” Eddie choked on his words. The person standing on the other side of the door wasn’t Richie. It was his mom. As quickly as he opened the door, Eddie slammed it shut and locked it, already feeling his chest tighten around his lungs.
“Eddie-bear! Open this door at once!”
Eddie pulled at his hair and shook his head, “No, no, no, please, no.”
Still his mother’s voice came through the door with force, “I’m your mother Eddie! What was I supposed to do when you stopped taking my calls? What if you’d been sick?”
He gasped for air that refused to come, this couldn’t be happening.
Where was Richie?
Was she going to stay out there until she found a way in?
Was she going to take him back to Derry?
He needed Richie.
Eddie stumbled into the bathroom and locked the door before sliding to the floor. He knew in some part of his mind that he was crying, but he couldn’t find it in himself to wipe them away. He gasped for air as he covered his ears to try to block out the voices in the hall. He hated that he couldn’t breathe, and he hated that he couldn’t focus on anything besides the desperate ache of his lungs.
***
Richie whistled as he walked through the hall, his lanyard with his keys attached swung in his hand. His evening class was long, too long in his humble opinion. The only reason Richie could get through it was because Eddie always cuddled with him afterwards.
Before turning the corner to reach his door, Richie paused. He could hear someone calling out for-
Eddie-bear?
Sonia?
Richie’s hands tightened into fists as he turned the corner. Sonia whirled around and sneered. He almost froze, suddenly feeling like he was twelve again. But he reminded himself he was an adult; she had no power over him.
Eddie on the other hand… Richie prayed his boyfriend was alright.
“You!” Sonia jabbed a finger in Richie’s face. He didn’t even flinch, “It’s your fault! You’ve turned my son into a disobedient, dirty, horrible-”
Richie pushed her hand out of his face and fixed her with an icy glare of his own as he growled, “Leave.”
Sonia’s voice rose an octave, “I’ll only leave when I get my son back!”
“Tough shit!” Richie’s voice rose, he knew his neighbors would be able to hear, but he didn’t care, “You’re not going anywhere near him, he deserves so much better than you, and you’re not going to take that away from him. Now leave-”
He pulled out his phone.
“Or I’ll call security.”
Sonia sneered at him again, “How dare you? I’m his mother!”
“I don’t give a fuck!” Richie dialed the number of campus security (Eddie made him memorize it the first week of classes), “One way or another, you’re going to leave. Your only options are going on your own or being hauled out by security.”
Sonia glared at Richie, her mouth opened and closed, making her look a bit like a fish. Without another word, she pushed past Richie- making him drop his phone- and stormed down the hall.
Richie grabbed his phone off the floor and saw he’d accidentally pressed call. Just as well, Richie supposed. He pressed his phone to his ear and informed security of the “Sonia Situation” as he unlocked the door with a shaky hand.
Now it was time to take care of his Eds.
***
Eddie heard the front door open as he shook. He sobbed again and curled into himself as much as he could. He knew he didn’t have asthma, but times like these made him miss the easy solution of his inhaler.
He flinched and whimpered when there was a knock at the bathroom door.
“Eds, baby, can you open the door for me?’
Part of Eddie was relieved now that he could hear Richie, but that part was overwhelmed by the vast majority of him that was still panicked.
He shook his head, not quite realizing that Richie couldn’t see him.
“Baby, please. You’re going to be okay. I’m here.”
Eddie sobbed. He still couldn’t breathe. His mom was here. Here. He thought he was safe. With Richie. He wanted Richie. His whole body shook.
“She’s here,” Eddie choked out, not sure if Richie could hear him.
He must’ve spoken loud enough, because Richie responded, “Not anymore, Eds. I made her leave.”
“Never gonna-” he cut himself off to gasp for air, “Never gonna leave.”
A fresh bout of tears fell from Eddie’s eyes. He was on the verge of hyperventilating, which only made him panic more.
“Eddie, baby, you gotta breathe, okay? She’s not here. It’s just you and me now.”
Eddie wanted to believe him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of terror in his gut. He wanted to open the door. To be held. By Richie. But he was frozen- stuck to the floor.
“Can’t,” he mumbled.
“Come on, Eds. Open the door. Let me hold you,” Richie sounded desperate and Eddie hated that it was his fault.
“She’s here, Rich,” Eddie choked out, “Don’t want her here.”
“I know, baby. I called security, so she can’t come back, okay?”
Eddie whimpered, “‘Kay?”
He tried to focus on Richie’s voice through the chaos in his mind.
“That’s right, told them to make sure the woman the size of a fucking walrus stays away from you.”
Eddie let out a sharp laugh despite himself. Slowly, he reached up and jiggled the handle to unlock it, before backing away, leaving Richie to open the door.
Richie opened it slowly, making sure he wouldn’t hit Eddie. He was sitting on the floor too. Moving forward swiftly, he pulled Eddie into a crushing hug.
Eddie fell into Richie’s chest and started crying again, he scrambled into his boyfriend’s lap as he sobbed.
“She’s here. Gonna take me. I don’t want to go, Rich. Don’t let me go. I wanna stay.”
Richie’s arms were tight around Eddie’s waist as he cried. Gently, Richie kissed the top of his head as he murmured, “You’re staying right here. I’m not letting you go; I promise. You’re staying with me.”
Eddie was still shaking but could feel himself slowly calming down. He whimpered and tried to make himself as small as possible to be completely enveloped in Richie’s arms.
“She wants me to go back to Derry,” just the thought sent terror shooting down Eddie’s spine.
Richie pulled away and gently held Eddie’s face in his hands. Eddie looked at his lap and bit his lip, mortified that Richie was seeing him like this.
Richie kissed Eddie’s forehead. Moving down, he pressed light kisses all the way down his nose. Before kissing his lips, Richie pressed their foreheads together.
“I promise you, Eds, that’s never going to happen. I won’t let her get close enough.”
Eddie stopped crying and began to hiccup, he buried his face in Richie’s shoulder and mumbled a small, ‘thank you.’
Richie held the back of Eddie’s head, keeping him close, “Oh, baby, of course. I’m never letting you go, okay?’
Eddie nodded and grabbed on to Richie’s shirt with shaking fists, “I love you.”
Richie held Eddie tighter, “I love you too, sweetheart.”
It wasn’t the first time they’d said that to each other, but the words still held the same, almost magic, effect on Eddie.
Thought’s of Richie replaced his worries.
He’s here.
He loves him.
He’s safe.
Richie kissed Eddie’s temple, “Okay, baby. Do you want to go straight to cuddling, or do you want a bath first?”
Eddie kissed Richie’s neck as a silent thank you, “Bath?”
Richie nodded and stood up, now carrying Eddie. He set him down on the bathroom counter. He gently wiped Eddie’s eyes and kissed both his cheeks, “You stay right here, baby. I’ll get the bath ready.”
Before Richie stepped away. Eddie leaned forward and pecked his lips. Richie ruffled his hair with a gentle smile, then started filling the tub.
Eddie watched as Richie dropped in some bath salts and adjusted the water temperature. He curled up around his knees on the counter while he watched Richie move around the bathroom, setting out fresh towels and lighting a candle they definitely were not allowed to have under their dorm’s regulations.
Then Richie slipped out of the bathroom. Eddie whined, but didn’t move. A moment later, he returned, carrying two wine glasses filled with chocolate milk. He grinned at Eddie, setting the glasses down on the counter.
“C’mon, clothes off.”
Eddie stripped quickly, simply tossing his clothes into the corner of the bathroom, too tired to bother folding them.
Richie smiled at Eddie and handed him a glass. They both stepped into the tub and sat slowly, making sure not to spill their milk.
They sat facing each other, their legs tangled together in between them.
Eddie sipped his chocolate milk and smiled at Richie, “Thank you for this.”
Richie reached out with his free hand to brush Eddie’s hair away from his face, “Of course, love. I’d do anything for you.”
Eddie knew it was the truth. He sighed and slowly turned around to press his back into Richie’s chest, “I love you.”
Richie’s hand wrapped around Eddie’s waist to hold him close, “I love you too. So, so much.”
As they sat in the warm water, sipping their drinks Eddie felt his eyelids grow heavy. He yawned and shifted back, setting his wine glass on the floor just outside the tub.
“Might fall asleep,” he warned Richie. He felt Richie kiss his shoulder.
Richie hummed and splashed some water on Eddie’s chest to try to wake him up, “Alright, let’s get you to bed.”
Eddie let Richie lead him out of the tub, where his boyfriend dried him off and helped him pull on his boxers and Richie’s t-shirt. Eddie watched as Richie did the same for himself, only partially aware.
Instead of simply leading Eddie to the bed, Richie scooped him up into his arms and gently laid him down, “Here we are, baby. You want to be little spoon?”
Eddie smiled up at Richie and nodded, already turning on his side, leaving room between him and the wall for Richie.
“Okay, Eds. You go to sleep now,” Richie kissed Eddie’s forehead before climbing over him and settling behind.
Eddie fell asleep to the sound of Richie’s quiet breathing and gentle kisses on the back of his neck.
The next time Eddie woke up it was the middle of the night. All he did was press closer to Richie’s chest and slip back into an easy sleep, feeling safe and loved.