Archive of Our Own ^beta

“So we can just.. go in?”

Eddie was trying, no one could fault him for that. He tried to sound calm, tried to sound like nothing was getting to him and that he didn’t much care about this process. Aloof was better than stressed, right? Aloof was better than telling his 41 year old boyfriend that maybe he had agreed to this too quickly and that they should walk right back out the door and come back at a later time.. way later.

Richie glanced at Eddie, noting the tone of his voice and the way it sounded almost robotic but also high strung. He didn’t want to agitate the anxious man any further, so he kept the mood light. A few large steps carried him out from the doorway and into the cat section of the shelter after holding it open for Eddie, and then he took his place next to him as they gazed upon the big glass windows lined up in front of them.

He shoved his hands into his pockets. “That’s what they said, Eds. We’ve got our little pass here—” Richie flashed the small green card with their names on it, the one they had just received from the front desk, and then stowed it away in his pocket again. “We’ve got free range on all this p—”

“Nope! Stop.” Eddie’s hand came up quickly as a warning, knowing full well what Richie had been about to say. There was more on the tip of his tongue, like the fact that they were in public and there were probably kids around, but before he could say anything else the man without a filter chuckled and walked towards one of the cat-filled rooms. Eddie rolled his eyes and sighed before following him.

At the last second, Eddie changed directions and steered his way over to one of the rooms across the hallway. Richie had started flipping through the info sheets near the door, reading the names and searching the room each time to find the cat it belonged to. He was enjoying himself, Eddie was happy about that, and he didn’t want to spoil the mood with the strange apprehensive energy he felt in the pit of his stomach.

This whole thing, it felt like a huge step. Eddie felt a bit ridiculous about it, really. What was there to be freaked out about? People have pets. It’s a normal thing. Couples adopt dogs and then spoil them to hell. Eddie remembered one of the women he used to work with talking about the expensive beds and the custom little house she and her husband built for their labrador. It was outrageous and weird, he had thought back then.

Now he thought back on it and realized he had been looking at it all wrong. If you love someone, something, anything— you show it. That’s how it worked. He was just unsure of what the difference between love and suffocation was. He had felt bad for the dog, like it was suffering with huge cushions and expensive food and its own little house. How fucked up was that?

Eddie choked down the feeling and it stuck in his throat, but at least Richie was intensely occupied by something else at the moment and didn’t see Eddie take in a shaking breath as he approached the glass.

Everything seemed far away for a long couple of moments. The shelter was quiet, with a few members of the staff moving through the hallway, papers being rustled about, doors opening and closing, hushed but excited conversations between people falling in love with possible pets. Eddie heard it all, though it was muffled, shoved through a filter that wasn’t quite working. His eyes were looking but they couldn’t focus, slowly moving from one point of focus to the next without really taking anything in.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath in, and when he opened them again there was something new.

Light eyes. A soft mix of green and yellow above a pink-orange nose. They stared up at him from where the cat was sitting on a ledge at the window, its striped tail curled perfectly around its body and covering its front feet.

Eddie blinked himself back into focus, fixated on the gaze directed at him. He noticed the tip of the cat’s tail flicking up and down in a soft, repeated motion. It hadn’t been there a few seconds ago, he was sure of it— like it had suddenly appeared.

What was that cliche saying? You don’t choose a cat, the cat chooses you?

Eddie started to think maybe, just maybe, there was some truth to that. The longer they stared at each other, the more the truth settled in. He certainly felt like he was being chosen, being inspected, like the cat could see his soul or some stupid shit like that. It felt strange, but he couldn’t help but wonder how he was measuring up.

Across the hallway, Richie had turned around to make a remark— but suddenly realized that Eddie wasn’t with him. He stopped mid-thought, mouth stuck open as he found Eddie on the other side of the room.

By then the time Richie’s eyes fell on him, Eddie had crouched down, balancing on the tips of his feet even though he was bent at the knees. He was eye to eye with a cat, head tilted just slightly to the left as they gazed at each other. The two of them were separated by glass and that was it— if it weren't there their noses would practically be touching. Richie could see a faint reflection of Eddie in the glass, but not enough to make out his expression.

The cat blinked slowly, and then moved from her sitting position to smush her face against the glass. Her fur flattened as she rubbed right against the spot where Eddie's nose was close to smudging the barrier between them. Eddie smiled, and then he straightened his legs so he was standing tall again, feet flat against the tile.

Richie had managed to stay quiet that entire time, choking back the comments on the tip of his tongue so that Eddie could have his little moment. Once Eddie was standing again and watching the cat walk away from him, Richie decided it was okay to talk again.

"You like that one?"

Eddie turned to him, shoving his hands into his pockets and taking a small step back like the motion would do anything to hide his strong and sudden attachment to the little friend he had just met. "Yeah— maybe."

Richie had taken his place next to Eddie and was rifling through the info cards that were pinned up next to the door as Eddie answered. He pulled one out once he found what he was looking for, letting the clipboard fall back into place with the rest of the info cards, and held the one he plucked away in both hands as he stared down at it.

From Eddie's spot in front of the glass, he gave Richie a sideways glance and saw that the other man was smiling from ear to ear. His expression was giddy, and after a few seconds his shoulders started to shake from laughter.

Eddie got impatient, feeling the tips of his ears burn a light pink in embarrassment. He let out a short sigh and then tried to get a peek at the sheet of folded paper in his boyfriend's hands. "Richie. What is it."

"Do you believe in destiny, my dear?" Richie noticed Eddie trying to steal a glance at the paper, and in response he flattened it to his chest, destroying any chance Eddie thought he had.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Eddie huffed, crossing his arms as the two of them locked eyes. Eddie's brows were pinched together and Richie's face was full of joy and mischief. "I'm not getting into a metaphysical debate with you in the middle of an animal shelter."

Richie's face stayed steady as he took in a deep breath. "Well, when I show you what that cat's name is you might kill me on the spot. But it will be completely worth it."

"Oh my god." There was an attempt to grab the sheet away from Richie, which failed. "Just tell me already! You are so goddamn annoying."

"You sure that you don't want to take a few guesses?"

"Richie—"

"One guess?"

"RICH—"

"Alright, alright!" Richie was full on giggling now, dodging Eddie's attempts to grab the oh so important paper from him. He held it to his chest like it was pure gold, a prized possession.

Truth be told, Eddie wasn't trying very hard to get it from him. It was more of a game than anything else, one where Eddie was satisfied pushing Richie’s buttons and vice versa.

Two of the shelter's volunteers were watching them from down the hallway, most likely keeping an eye on them to make sure they wouldn't do anything stupid like accidentally open up the door to the room they were in front of and set the cats free. They were good at that— attracting attention that they certainly didn't need but maybe enjoyed just a little too much, like a big neon sign above their heads saying ‘look at us, we’re stupid and we love each other and we’ll make sure every single person knows it’.

"Hand it over." Eddie moved back from Richie, his face flushed, and held out a demanding hand.

Richie wiggled his eyebrows. "I love it when you boss me around."

"Stop stalling! Give it to me!"

Without another word, Richie finally conceded and placed the now wrinkly information sheet into the palm of Eddie's hand.

The two held their eye contact for a second more, and then Eddie finally got to see the secret Richie had been hiding from him.

"Oh my god you've got to be kidding me."

That's all it took for Richie to start snickering again, and it turned into a full blown laugh as Eddie read the name of the cat over and over again, mouth agape.

"Like I said, Eds—" One of Richie's large hands flew to his chest as he spoke through his bout of laughter. "I think we have to chalk this one up to destiny."

"You've got to be kidding me." Eddie repeated, reading the cat's name one last time: Spaghetti.

Richie planted a hand on top of the door handle, his face slowly softening as Eddie continued to stare at the sheet. "Let's go meet her."

The suggestion sent a small shot of panic through him, one that he was embarrassed about, because what? He was scared to meet a cat? Was that seriously something he was grappling with right now? Of course, it was more than that, but Eddie still hesitated as he looked up and his eyes glanced between Richie's face and the door handle. "You don't want to look around more?"

Richie's hand dropped back to his side, and he paused a moment before he chose his next words. "Are we moving too fast today, Eds? I know you agreed to come look around, but we don't have to bring one home today. We don't even have to meet any of them if you don't want to. I'm fine with walking around a bit and then going home that's totally—"

"No, wait—" Eddie interrupted Richie before he could say anything more. It was sweet how Richie was so tuned into how he was feeling. It made him feel known, feel seen, feel loved— but right now he also knew that Richie was being vulnerable. This, adopting a cat, was something he had wanted for a long time and now that it was right at his fingertips Eddie could tell he was starting to get emotional about it all. "I'm sorry. I want to be here, I want to be doing this with you."

Richie took in a breath, his chest and shoulders rising stiffly. Then he put a hand back on the handle of the door, and opened it without another word.

Eddie followed him into the room, worried that he had ruined the moment, ruined the feeling. But when he watched Richie sit down on the floor, groaning softly as his knees protested against him, his worries started to dissipate. The cats flocked to him almost instantly, like he was a magnet or something. The shy ones stayed hidden underneath various enclosures and shelves, watching Eddie as he stood awkwardly in the center of the room.

Richie looked up, smiling, and then pointed to Eddie before petting the head of a black cat that had placed a few paws in his lap. “Your friend is behind you.”

When Eddie turned around, Richie fell in love with him all over again. He watched the love of his life open up slowly, bit by bit, pried open like a clam by the little cat nosing her face into his timid fingers.

That was it. Richie knew after approximately ten seconds that this was the cat they needed to take home. Destiny was a strange concept for the both of them, considering everything they had been through in Derry, but if there was a good kind of meant-to-be then this was definitely what Richie hoped it would be.

Spaghetti the cat. How ridiculous was that?

In true Eddie Kaspbrak fashion, he bitched about Richie making him carry her out of the building even though that meant his partner was stuck carrying everything else— cat food and litter stuffed into a litter box that he was almost able to wrap his arms completely around. Typical misplaced anxiety, coming out as inflated anger.

Richie still held the door open for him anyway.

Eddie passed him, adjusting his grip on the carrier and maneuvering them around so she didn’t hit anything on the way out. “We have to change her name, you know that right?”

Richie said nothing, and simply followed him with a smile back to the car.

***

"Damn. The place we want to order from doesn't deliver. Do you still wanna go for it or should we— Eds?" Richie had just finished getting Spaghetti’s litter box set up in their spare room and had grabbed his phone on the way out, quickly searching for the place Eddie had mentioned earlier so they could order an easy dinner.

When Richie looked up from his phone, he was met with a nice view of Eddie's back, and the silence stretched out for a few seconds as it became obvious that the other man hadn't been listening. Richie waited another beat and then moved his head two inches to the left to peer around Eddie into the living room, searching for the thing that had caught his boyfriend's attention. A small flicker of movement caught his eye and it dawned on him that Eddie was watching their cat as she carefully walked along the front of their couch, nose pointed up as she sniffed the cushions with caution.

Richie smiled, one corner of his mouth slowly pulling up like it did whenever Eddie was doing something unexpected. He wasn't aware of the way his eyes softened during these particular moments, and neither was Eddie— it was a secret thing the universe would always get to keep to itself. Little moments of contentment that had a bad habit of fading once the person it was meant for happened to look his way.

This time, since Eddie was so focused on the little creature quietly moving around the darkened room in front of him, the moment was allowed to exist for a while longer. Richie said his name again and in response, Eddie hummed something noncommittal and lifted one shoulder— something that could almost be considered a shrug.

Richie's smile brightened and he shook his head— apparently he would be making the decisions tonight, something he definitely hadn't anticipated. But, if it meant that he would get to witness Eddie do this, he could handle it.

A few soft steps carried Richie the rest of the way down the hall to where he wanted to settle behind Eddie. "You know—" He made sure to keep his voice low so as to not scare the other two beings in the vicinity. "You can go over there."

"I don't.. I don't want to scare her." Eddie's voice was somehow even quieter than Richie's. It was even shaking a bit, his anxiety obvious in the way his words were hesitant and stifled.

Richie gently rested a hand on Eddie's shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. "Just go slow. And maybe sit on the floor, get on her level."

Eddie audibly gulped. "How are you so good at this?"

"Experience, baby. How do you think I got you to be comfortable living with me?"

"Oh, fuck you."

Richie wheezed and flicked Eddie's ear. "Later. Right now, why don't you go spend some time with our new housemate while I order the food and go pick it up?"

Eddie's face scrunched up in confusion. "Just get it delivered?"

"Oh babe—" Richie sighed and kissed Eddie's cheek. Then he lightly smacked his ass, and the shorter man grumbled. "Get in there and try to relax. I'll be back soon."

On his way to grab the keys Richie slid a few feet over to flip on the light switch for the living room, not stopping even when he heard a small gasp of surprise from Eddie at the sudden brightness flooding the space. The keys jingled as he shoved them ungracefully into his pocket and felt for his wallet, and then with one swift movement he opened the door and left before Eddie could say anything else in protest.

When the door clicked shut, Eddie realized what had happened— he was alone. With the cat. And his anxiety.

Great. Just great.

The clock in the living room ticked away, a quiet metronome that almost sent him into a trance as he stayed frozen in the entrance to the room. So, he focused on it. He counted the seconds and made his breathing even and was rewarded with a small amount of calm soaking into his system.

File that away for later, he thought. His therapist would love to hear about all of this next week.

His bare feet were quiet against the carpet once he finally stepped forward into the room. The cat had made her way along the entire length of the couch towards the chair, which meant she was facing away from him at the moment— thankfully. Eddie had spoken the truth earlier. He didn’t want to scare her. This place was entirely strange to her, like a brand new world of sights and smells and sounds. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like.

Or, well— maybe he could. This place had once been like that for him, too.

After reaching the center of the room, Eddie leaned down slowly, knees bending in a way that was difficult to maintain until he felt the tips of his fingers brush against the carpet. His palm carefully flattened to the ground as he moved into a sitting position, crossing his legs and adjusting as quietly as he could. The house was silent in a way that he felt guilty breaking, calm in a way that felt far too fragile for him to handle. The floor of his own home felt like a thin sheet of ice ready to crack over the top of a frozen lake, and with one wrong move he could send himself and the little creature eyeing him carefully from a few feet away down into the cold dark depths.

Once he was settled, Eddie tried to breathe and folded his hands together precisely in his lap. The cat— which he refused to call by that name— had ducked her head and slinked her way under the chair next to the couch. Their eyes met, Eddie's full of concern and the cat's full of cautious curiosity. She didn't blink. Eddie eventually looked away for a quick moment, and then slumped forward until his chest was practically touching the floor so he could get a better look at her. Richie had said to get on her level— and now Eddie was committed.

"Hi."

He broke the silence, and the world stayed intact. It felt nice, even if that awkward anxiety was still tight in his chest. (He was talking to a cat, after all.) One-sided conversations weren't exactly a new concept to him but this was.. different. The cat said nothing, as expected. She stayed still, green eyes reflecting the small amount of warm light that was able to reach her from the lamp in the corner of the room. Eddie watched as she shifted her front feet so that they were tucked underneath her.

Next thing he knew, more words were coming out of his mouth. "Are you liking it here so far?"

Eddie desperately wanted to know the answer to that. A small chuckle escaped him when he remembered Richie asking him something very similar a few weeks after he had officially moved in. Maybe Richie was right when he said he had experience with this sort of thing. It made Eddie groan, but maybe it was about time that he leaned into it instead of fighting it.

Now it was time for the cat to win over the cat.

Nope. Way too cheesy— Eddie shut that thought down quickly, then moved on.

"Maybe I should have brought the treats over." Eddie continued. "But then again, we don't want our relationship to start off on the wrong foot. If you only start to love me because I feed you little morsels of unhealthy food, how will we move on from that? Will you ever want to be around me just because you.. like me? I don't know if I'd ever really trust myself after that. Not that you'd be the one to blame.. you're a cat, you like treats. That's not your fault. But I don't want us to start out like that. So. No treats, okay? Plus those should only be given to you in moderation. I already know that Richie is going to give you more than I would deem necessary, but even if that's the case I have a feeling I might like spoiling you, so I'll tease him about it while not really giving a shit. Because you're adorable. And you definitely deserve stuff that tastes good."

She blinked. Eddie pursed his lips, eyebrows raised, and shrugged. From what he looked up about cat behavior, a blink was good. Right now, he would be taking every little good sign and holding it close.

"We— we had a connection back at the shelter. I wonder if you remember that." Eddie didn't think he would ever forget it. Something that genuine, that simple and easy and warm— Eddie hadn't felt it many times in his life. There had been a certain degree of familiarity to it, something he could feel in his bones that he had been missing and had been longing for. There was still that little voice in the back of his mind trying to convince him that it was a feeling that couldn't be trusted, that Eddie wouldn't know a genuine feeling if his life depended on it. For most of his life, that had been his reality. For the longest time, he couldn’t trust the people around him, he couldn’t trust love. But things were changing.

"I-I was kinda caught in the whirlwind of excitement and adrenaline when we decided to take you home. It feels like that happened such a long time ago, but it was only a few hours ago. That's nuts, right? Time is so fuckin' weird." His words pulled a sad laugh from his chest, one that he couldn't force down or choke back. "Richie and I know all about that. So do our friends. Time means everything, and it means nothing. I don't know which of those ideas I hate more. But now here you are, hiding under the chair I picked out with Richie last month. Because that's the kind of life I'm living now— one where the person I'm living with lets me help pick out the chairs that go in the living room where our cat is now hiding because she needs a safe space. And I get it. I totally get it, needing a safe space. And I think I'm finally getting the whole.. normal life thing. Because you're part of that."

At some point during his little speech, Eddie had uncrossed his legs and stretched out flat on his stomach— a fact that he only became aware of once the quiet room brought him back to his senses and he felt the carpet against his bare arms. He briefly lifted his head to look around, his expression mildly confused, but then he resigned to set his chin back down on top of his intertwined fingers.

The cat and him were face to face, maybe three feet away from each other. She hadn't run away, hadn't moved at all in fact. Eddie took that as another good sign.

He took in a deep breath, feeling his lungs work to fill as gravity pushed him flat against the plush surface beneath him. And then he sighed, not sure what exactly it was that he was feeling. He allowed himself to exist as a mystery, and about two seconds after thinking up the idea he lifted his chin and gently moved one of his hands out towards the cat hiding in front of him.

He kept his fingers relaxed and unintrusive, as non-threatening as he could manage. They hovered near the little pink nose hidden in the shadows as an invitation— easy for her to reach out and make the first move, and easy for her to ignore. Eddie held his breath and tried to be still upon the realization that he was shaking just slightly, eyes flicking between the cat and his quivering hand.

What felt like an hour was probably closer to ten seconds, and Eddie's anxious patience paid off. He watched as the bundle of fur stretched her neck forward and gave his hand a tentative sniff, nose twitching. She was focused, determined, but still cautious— or at least that's how Eddie was interpreting it. Her little mind was just as much of a mystery as his own, but he was sure that they could work this out.

Then she untucked her feet, and then Eddie felt soft fur being pressed into his hand as she rubbed her face against him.

"Oh!" It was more of a sound than a word, something soft and vulnerable and full of quiet surprise. The cat broke away and proceeded to slink out from underneath the chair towards the table next to it, each paw placed one in front of the other with purpose as she weaved around one of the legs and then stopped so that she was facing him.

Eddie smiled, still holding his arm out in front of him right where she had left it. They shared another moment of eye contact and somehow Eddie knew it would be okay to move now.

"So—" The conversation continued on as he pushed himself back up into a sitting position, legs crossed just as before. Dimples appeared as he smiled down at her. “We’re good then?”

Then his brown eyes went wide as she moved away from the table, right towards him, and didn’t stop until she was fully in his lap. She barely fit over top one of his legs but that’s where she wanted to settle, and Eddie wasn’t going to argue with that.

Before he knew it, Spaghetti (name pending) the cat was purring, legs carefully tucked underneath her body and her little head resting on his knee.

Ah. So this is what it feels like.

Had there been anyone else in the room with him, they would have seen his face crack before he cried. They were happy tears, of course. Tears of relief, of understanding, of something clicking into place deep inside him. This was love. Richie had given him the roadmap and now their cat was showing him a way to walk.

By the time Richie got home with their dinner, Eddie had stopped crying. They both turned their heads towards the door when it opened and their man walked through it, rustling plastic bags in his hands. It ended up being too much noise for Spaghetti, who got up and hid under the chair again. Eddie didn’t mind, especially since it became clear very quickly that his legs had fallen asleep from sitting on the floor for so long.

Richie caught him as he stumbled getting to his feet. He gave Spaghetti a scratch under the chin as Eddie watched fondly from a few feet away, and then they ate dinner with their new friend napping on the empty stool between them.

***

“Jellybean?”

“No.”

“Organic Kale?”

“No.”

“Mac and Cheese?”

“No!”

“We could call her Cheese for short.”

“Richie, no.”

“Okay, okay. Mac for short.”

“No!”

Richie shook the box of pasta in his hand, loud and obnoxious, before sliding it back on the shelf next to the other identical boxes. “You’re the one who wants to rename her. I’m just trying to help.”

Eddie glanced to him. “That was just a regular box of pasta, Rich. If you want to be accurate, you should have suggested the name Mini Elbows.” The sarcasm in his voice was clear— he made sure of it.

And Richie, per usual, fed off of that sarcasm instead of taking it as a warning. “She looks like a Mini Elbows to me, now that you mention it.” His words were paired with a crooked smirk.

“I hate you.” With force, Eddie started pushing the cart away from Richie, aiming for the next aisle. He stopped when he reached the preserves and grabbed a jar of apricot, turning it around in his hand to look at the ingredients as he waited for his idiot boyfriend to catch up.

Eddie put the preserves in the cart and spoke up again as Richie slid into place next to him. “We’ve had her for less than a day, we don’t need to find a name for her yet.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” A jar of strawberry was placed next to the apricot by another set of hands. “You just keep calling her Cat.”

“So?”

“So, that’s fucking stupid.”

“All of the names you’re coming up with are fucking stupid.” Eddie started moving with the cart without waiting for Richie— again.

“What about Steve?” The voice was coming from behind him now, as Richie speed-walked to keep up. “You are surprisingly fast.”

“Steve? You mean like your manager? You want to name our cat the same thing as your human manager? And yeah, try to keep up dipshit.”

“Absolutely, that would be hilarious! Think of how confused he would be when I talk about her in front of him.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s as funny as you think it is.” Eddie turned the corner and headed into the fresh veggies section. “That would be like naming our cat Bill.”

“Wait, Eds—” Somehow, Richie had walked fast enough to catch up. Eddie almost ran into him with the cart after he bolted through the row of apples next to Eddie and then wrapped around, grasping the front of the cart with his big hands. “Let’s name her Bill.”

“Oh my fucking god, no!” In retaliation, Eddie pushed forward and hit Richie in the gut with the cart.

It backfired on him completely, sending Richie back in a flurry of choked laughter. “It’s way too easy to get a rise out of you, babe. I’m sorry.”

Eddie stared back, brows pinched tightly together, as Richie started to manhandle a bunch of bananas. “No you’re not.”

Richie didn’t look back, just smiled and replied. “You’re right. I’m not.”

And since Richie wasn’t looking, Eddie smiled back.

The rest of their shopping endeavour passed quickly, with Richie listing off more names (some food related and some not) and with Eddie ignoring him the best he could. They ended up in a pinch fight in the parking lot after Eddie slid the box of fresh fruit into the trunk. They were annoying and loud, throwing out expletives as an old lady slowly walked past them across the way. She gave them a horrified look when she saw Eddie shove his hand against Richie’s face, almost knocking off his glasses.

It ended when Eddie managed to grab hold of Richie’s nipple, pinched hard, and twisted. He got into the driver’s seat with a satisfied smirk, waiting for a red-faced Richie to get in next to him. They stayed quiet the entire ride home, both knowing full well who won that round.

Richie kicked his shoes off the second they walked through the door. Two pulls of the laces to loosen them and then some pressure at the heels— that’s all it took, and then his blue Converse were sent to sit a few feet away, one of them not managing to stay upright. Eddie looked to them and smiled, remembering how Richie tried so hard to always put them away when he first moved in. Now he let them rest where they landed. A home wasn’t a home until you could leave your shoes where you wanted.

After Eddie set down the box of fruit he gently pried the bag of groceries from Richie’s hand, ready to start putting everything away. But Richie stopped him from moving farther into the kitchen, catching him by the wrist and pointing behind him.

“Look.”

Eddie half turned around and saw soon-to-be-renamed Cat make her way into the kitchen, heading towards the mound of fruit he would soon be blending into smoothies. She paused, taking a second to rub her cheek against the corner of the box and then tentatively sniff at the top of the bananas.

“We could name her Banana.” Richie whispered.

Eddie reached back awkwardly and slapped his free hand over Richie’s mouth, hoping to preserve the moment and watch as she moved towards the bag of cat toys they had bought on a whim.

Richie licked his palm. The moment was instantly ruined.

“Fuck, Richie! Gross!” He whipped back around and dramatically swiped his saliva covered hand down the length of Richie’s patterned shirt.

Richie caught his hand before it could find its way back to his side, and Eddie’s expression softened when their fingers weaved together.

“What?” Their eyes locked and Eddie was feeling vulnerable.

Richie shrugged, feeling the same. “I think you’re neat.”

“You think I’m.. neat?” Eddie snorted, his tone light and teasing. He squeezed Richie’s hand.

“Hell yeah.” Richie snorted and squeezed back, continuing after a short pause. “You doing okay with all of this? It’s a big change, and we didn’t really anticipate it happening quite yet. I just...”

Even though Richie had trailed off, Eddie knew what he was trying to get at. Communication. Checking in. Talking things over, not skipping over the important stuff and making sure they were being honest with each other. They both had a tough run of it and still had a shit ton to get better with, but they were putting in the work.

“Rich, I wouldn’t have agreed to take her home yesterday if I wasn’t sure. Yeah, it’s a change. But. It’s a good one.” He adjusted his grip and then lifted their paired hands so he could kiss Richie’s fingers.

After that, Richie got swept up in the moment and switched out their hand holding for a hug. They fit perfectly together, faces pressed gently against each other as Eddie let himself melt into the moment against Richie’s chest. Things felt right. They felt good, they felt new and free and calm.

Richie felt it too, pressing against Eddie a little more and letting out a content sigh as he opened his eyes and glanced towards the window on the other side of the kitchen. The day was starting to grow old and the west coast light filtering in was warm and engulfed the room. It felt almost too good to be true for a few beautiful seconds, like the world was giving him something precious, something to be savored. For a long time, Richie had been scared of moments like this because they came far and few between and always faded, leaving him cold and alone.

But here he was now, with Eddie in his arms. They were bathed in gold and tangerine and he could feel himself starting to tear up, trying to not let himself get overwhelmed.

The jingle of a bell from the still packaged cat toys brought their attention back to the present. They broke off their hug and turned to look at her in unison, just in time to see her stick her head into the bag and pull out a feather toy with a small bell on the end.

They both laughed as she ran off with it, jogging into the living room and then down the hallway towards the spare room which belonged to her now.

Without warning, Eddie gently tugged at Richie’s shirt and pulled him into a kiss. It was quick, but it was passionate, and when they broke apart they both couldn’t help going in for a second time.

They had done this enough times now to start forming a routine— Eddie gathered the bills that had been scattered across the end of their kitchen island and placed them neatly in a pile to make room. Richie put all of their bags and the box of fruit up onto the now open surface. And then they worked together to put everything in their place.

There were still a few things they hadn’t exactly agreed on— like which side of the fridge the milk went on and what order the spices should be kept in. Eddie usually won when they ‘discussed’ those sort of things, mostly because he was stubborn and Richie liked seeing him having his own opinions. He liked giving Eddie an opportunity to fight for the little things. It worked for them both.

Finally, they were finished. Richie closed the fridge and paused for a moment to look over the pictures scattered across the metallic surface. “Have we gotten a new postcard from Mike yet?”

Eddie shook his head. “No. I’ve been looking out for one everyday, but nothing yet.”

“Hm.” Richie hummed out thoughtfully, eyes glancing over the faces of his friends before turning around and closing the gap between him and Eddie. “We should send them a picture of Spaghetti.”

Her name produced a guttural, annoyed groan from Eddie, who was still acting as dramatic as he could while he had the chance. “If you tell them that’s her name, I will kill you.”

“But that is her name, Eddie baby.”

“No it’s not!” He wagged a strong, opinionated finger in Richie’s face. “It’s not.”

The other man’s hands raised up in defeat, and then he pulled his phone out with a sigh. “I have this one from last night— what do you think?”

Eddie glanced it over when Richie flipped the screen towards him. It was a picture of her stepping out of the litter box, which resulted in Eddie’s face falling completely flat. “Are you fucking joking? Why were you watching her piss?”

“I wanted to make sure she knew where it was and how to use it! It’s a new house for her, Eds. Sometimes cats pee where they’re not supposed to.”

“Alright, point proven.” Eddie waved a hand, his way of giving Richie the go ahead. After a few seconds of typing on Richie’s end, Eddie’s phone pinged with the text notification. And then they waited for the replies to pour in. “We still don’t have a name.”

“You got any ideas? Since you were shooting down all of mine.”

“No.” Eddie replied, pulling out one of the stools that sat at their island. Richie took a seat next to him, and they glanced out the window to look at the setting sun.

“This is almost as nice of a view as the one I came home too last night, with you and her piled together in the middle of the floor.” Richie nudged their shoulders together. “Like.. a pile of spaghetti and meatballs.”

“Richie—”

“No wait, Eddie! That’s it!”

“Do you know how horribly dorky you sound right now?”

“Yup, and it’s about to get worse. We should name her Meatball.”

Eddie paused, going stiff. Richie tried to read his face and came up blank. “Eds?”

The other man’s face twisted and pinched together in a way that almost looked painful, all before falling forward and landing on the cold surface of the kitchen island with a soft thud.

Richie nodded. “You hate it.”

“No.” Eddie’s voice came out muffled. “I-I don’t. That’s why I’m so fucking mad right now. I don’t hate it.”

“Are you saying—” Richie leaned in closer, pressing his chin to the marble next to Eddie’s ear. “—that you’re going to let her be the Meatball to your Spagheddie?”

“Shut up! Please!” A wild Eddie hand lifted up and tried to smack Richie away, but he missed. It sent Richie into a fit of laughter.

“You can’t take it back! You can’t! The name is official now!”

“Oh, I hate you so much.”

“Mmmm, love you too.” Richie slid over and kissed the top of Eddie’s head as his boyfriend wallowed in self pity.

Eventually they made dinner and had extras left over, which they put into containers and froze. It felt quite domestic. Like they were living someone else’s life and at any moment, another couple would walk through the door and ask what the hell they were doing in their house.

But no one else ever showed up. Everyday, Eddie and Richie woke up together in their own bed and went about their business together. It was still new, but not as fragile as before.

And now, both of them felt like they leveled up after adopting Meatball. Kids were still a possibility, something that was a maybe but not something to be actually considered yet. But this? This was a family, no ifs ands or buts about it. They had already proven they could learn to take care of each other, and now they were proving they could take care of someone else— together. It was nice, even if it was still unspoken in the early days.

A week after bringing her home, Eddie caught Richie carrying her around the kitchen early one morning. He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he crossed the living room, and when he opened them again that’s what he saw. There were two steaming mugs of coffee on the counter and a bowl of scrambled eggs waiting to be cooked, but obviously Richie had gotten distracted.

A moment of clarity hit Eddie, and he ran to grab his Polaroid camera before joining them for breakfast.

“You’re gonna get fur in the eggs.” Eddie’s voice was still groggy as he sat down at the island.

“Extra fiber.” Richie replied fast. He had always been a morning person, something that still amazed Eddie even after all this time.

After Richie looped back around the room, he stopped to show Meatball the calendar hanging on the wall. It was a perfect moment, with Richie lost in his one way conversation and Meatball purring away in his arms. Eddie took his chance and captured the moment with his camera, catching the film as it printed.

The shutter sound caught Richie’s attention, and to explain the disturbance Eddie held up the developing film with two fingers and smiled. “To add to the fridge later. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

“You’re worse than the paparazzi.” With Meatball still in his arms, Richie crossed the kitchen and planted his first kiss of the day. “You caught my Funny Nuts on camera.”

Eddie tangled his fingers in Richie’s already messy hair and kissed him back to shut him up, pulling back after a few moments as Meatball squirmed out of Richie’s grip and into his lap. “Am I now? Think you can handle that?”

“Always.”