Chapter Text
“So, did you guys know about this snowstorm coming or did you want us to stay over a couple of extra days?” Bill smirked as he sipped his hot chocolate in the dark living room. The snow fell outside, gradually growing in size.
Snapping a flame in one last candle, the Losers were piled up in a circle on the L-shaped couch. It was just like when they were kids, hogging a couch in their parents’ houses. Ah, the bliss of being adults.
“Bill, don’t be snarky! You know the news never knows what it's saying,” Beverly told him, finally sitting down with Ben. He put an arm around his wife and covered her in the blanket with him. The power had been out for most of the evening - meaning the heat was off, too.
“Do you recall me telling everyone that there were hints of a blizzard coming?” Eddie asked, a bit agitated. He’d been wound up all week about the storm. Earlier he wouldn’t stop pacing when the snow was covering the cars. And he almost had a panic attack when the lights went out.
“Hey, hey, aren’t we all forgetting the real reason why we’re here?” Richie interrupted, holding his mug in the air. Whipped cream overflowed his mug, dripping off the side. Rolling his eyes, Eddie handed him a napkin. “We’re supposed to be having a Valentine's Day we’ll never forget!”
The Losers all raised their mugs of hot chocolate in agreement. Eddie snuggled with Richie a little closer. Feeling anxious, he knew that this was going to be the best Valentine's Day ever. Five years ago, Richie invited him to L.A. for Valentine’s Day. Aside from traveling with Richie, that was when they finally admitted their feelings. Ever since Eddie was very happy.
A swoop of wind hit the house, shaking it. Eddie clung to Richie, thankful that they were inside. The other Losers were enjoying the storm.
“This is going to be a blizzard for the books,” Stanley remarked, adjusting his glasses. Eddie never met anyone so interested in weather like Stan. When they were kids, Stanley was so involved with the weather that he wouldn’t stop talking about it to one of the teachers.
“We met because of a snowstorm, honey,” Patty cuddled with her husband.
“Ooh, let’s hear this!” Mike got comfortable in his chair. Despite being the only Loser without anybody, Mike didn’t seem to mind. Though he had been seeing this one woman for some time. All the Losers were still trying to get Mike to invite her to one of their get-togethers.
“Well, it was a huge blizzard and our campus didn’t even cancel classes! You could have been picked up from the ground with how strong the winds were,” Patty explained. “So, I slipped on the ice and Stan found me in the snow and practically carried me to my next class!”
“Ho-ho!” Richie laughed. “Got to the honeymoon stage a little quick, huh, Stanny?”
“Beep Beep, Richie!” Stan spat as the Losers laughed.
As the Losers continued in chatter, drifting into small groups, Eddie kept his attention to the storm outside. When would they be able to go home? If he was going to go through with his proposal to Richie, now was the time. It was a perfect moment. Candles surrounded the area illuminating the room, the Losers were all together, and it was a significant day.
“Excuse me, guys, I’ll be right back.” Before leaving, he kissed Richie. “I love you.”
“Love you too, babe. I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll only be gone a minute!”
“That’s still looong!”
Eddie smiled and kissed him again. His heart fluttered out of his skin as he floated down the hallway. He never felt this way when he was with Myra. Sometimes it all felt like a dream, but it wasn’t. It was real.
Stepping into their room of the many guest rooms in this house - Ben had a lot of money, he just wasn’t admitting to it - Eddie opened the side pocket of his suitcase which he hid under the bed. Whenever they went away, Richie always got their suitcases messed up. This time, that was not going to happen.
Eddie felt like his heart stopped when he saw the zipper open halfway.
“Shit,” Eddie uttered, throwing open the suitcase and searching every nook and cranny, and every pocket with a zipper. “Fuck! No! No!” He tossed everything out - socks, extra shoes, snow pants, toothpaste, rope (yeah, don’t ask about that) and searched through all his toiletry bags.
Nothing.
This can’t be happening, it can’t be! He was so careful not to mess this up. His proposal was supposed to be perfect, unlike his first one which was forced by his mother. The box with the ring that he spent a full day looking for at the jewelry store had to be here somewhere!
Breathing so he could relax his rapid heart, Eddie mentally retraced his steps. He knew he put that ring in the side pocket before leaving L.A. It was still there when they got their luggage following their trip on the plane (he knew, it was the first thing he checked.) While they were driving to Ben’s vacation house near a lake in New York, Eddie decided to check again.
The car. The box with the ring was in the car. When they were getting out, Eddie knew that he heard something drop but he was already hugging Beverly who plowed into him.
Tears formed in his eyes as he held his head between his knees. He wanted to cry, to scream, to hold Richie. The proposal was supposed to happen tonight! Eddie had it all planned out since Christmas. Of course, there was a delay in the ring and he couldn’t get it until January. When Richie was sound asleep at night, he got out of their cuddle to practice his proposal and then return to their snuggle.
“Eddie?” he heard a voice out in the hallway. Beverly looked into his room, concerned. “Are you okay? It’s okay if you’re nervous.”
Getting off the bed, Eddie pulled her into the room and closed the door. “I left the ring in the car,” Eddie’s voice quivered, a tear falling from his eye.
Her face falling, Beverly opened her arms, her friend immediately falling into them. Beverly was the only one that he told. Since she knew the erratic pacing when he couldn’t sit still on Christmas, Eddie told her all about the upcoming proposal, showing her pictures of the ring on his phone.
“What am I going to do now?” Eddie cried.
“It’s okay, honey,” Beverly comforted him, rubbing circles on his back. “You could try another time. Oh, or you could do it without the ring! Just tell Richie the truth. You know he’ll understand.”
Eddie shook his head, furiously. Leaving Beverly’s embrace to pace back and forth, the wind howled, rocking the house again. The snow outside caught his attention. The window was completely covered sans for a few bare spots. Glancing out the window, Eddie could just barely make out the cars sitting under blankets of snow.
“Beverly, you have to help me,” Eddie announced, determined.
The woman looked from Eddie to the car he was staring at out the window. “Eddie, you are not thinking about going out into that blizzard, are you?”
Without answering, Eddie scavaged through his suitcase, finding long socks and other snow equipment. “Eddie, you listen to me, it’s dangerous out there! It’s not worth going outside. You said so yourself! You know what’s going to happen if you go. Do you know what you are doing?”
“Yes,” Eddie answered, putting on an extra layer of pants until going for his snow pants.
Beverly just watched him, silent. Knowing Eddie, if he was ignoring one of his own worries, his love for Richie was everything. She could relate. Arguably, if she was in this situation, she would do the same thing for Ben.
Approaching Eddie as he threw on his second snow jacket, he also had two extra pairs of gloves, a scarf, a thick hat with flaps, and ski goggles. He didn’t ski. Eddie just wanted them if he ever needed them at an appropriate time.
“You come prepared for anything,” Beverly noted, impressed with how many supplies Eddie could stuff in his bag.
Wrapping his scarf around his neck, Eddie turned to Beverly, placed his hands on her shoulders, and stared at her with pleading eyes. “You need to distract everyone. Can you do that for me, please?”
Reluctantly, Beverly nodded. “Just be careful, okay?”
Eddie collected the rope, zipped up his jacket, and put on his goggles. “I will.”