Work Text:
Eddie is completely paranoid about germs, this is basically common knowledge to everyone who knows him, and he is aware of it himself.
His germophobia is not anything new. He has lived with it since he was very young and, to begin with, it is something he is used to.
Something he has learned to control in his routine.
Every time Eddie goes to the school cafeteria, before getting his food, it feels necessary to pull a small bottle of hand sanitizer from his fanny pack and pour it into his hands. After eating, the same thing. He does not mind standing in a longer line, because he knows it would not be worth being one of the first if that meant risking cross contamination.
He learned about it in biology class and, since then, the idea has not really left his mind.
Eddie also makes a point of rarely using the school bathroom. They’re the worst.
He cannot stand going in there and seeing the grime spreading across the walls more and more with each passing day. He doesn’t need to look down to know exactly what’s on the floor. He can picture it perfectly, piss all over the place.
This fact in particular drives Eddie crazy.
When Beverly told him the girls’ bathroom is cleaner and smells better, he simply considered it as yet another reason men don’t live as long.
Either way, his obsessive fear of germs is no secret.
However, Eddie didn’t know that this problem, which has followed him throughout his entire life since his mother Sonia Kaspbrak’s earliest teachings, had an exception.
***
Eddie discovered it on a summer day.
The heat had hit Derry hard during that last week of vacation. Eddie walked side by side with Bill along the main street sidewalk. The others followed close behind. Up ahead, Mike spotted an ice cream truck and thought it would be a good idea to grab something refreshing before heading to the quarry for a swim.
So they left their bikes on the sidewalk and ran over to get in line.
“What flavor are you getting, Eds? Don’t tell me it’s going to be vanilla.” Richie asked from behind Stan.
“What the hell is your problem with vanilla?” Eddie shot back. It was his favorite flavor. Sure, it was not the most exciting option according to his friends, but he did not care enough to change his mind.
“Nothing! My eighty-year-old grandpa loves it!” Richie replied sarcastically. Eddie rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh.
When they got their ice cream, they sat down on the sidewalk next to their bikes. Eddie realized too late that he had forgotten to grab a napkin, and by then he couldn't go back for one. The truck was already far down the street, serving other kids.
So there was no other option but to eat the ice cream carefully.
Careful was not enough, though.
“D-do you want my n-napkin, Eddie? It’s dirty right h-here.” Eddie lifted his head, paying attention to Bill. The boy pointed at his own face, showing the corner of his mouth.
“Sure, tha-”
“Eddie doesn’t need a napkin, he has me!” Richie interrupted though, with an innocent, high-pitched voice, and before Eddie could fully process it, the boy’s disgusting tongue slid across his skin, right where it was dirty.
His eyes widened, and Richie pulled back with a huge grin, swallowing the leftover melted ice cream like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“That’s disgusting!” Eddie could hear Stan yelling. Yeah, disgusting, he thought.
But, deep down, Eddie was surprised.
Eddie was surprised because he had not found it disgusting.
Still, his cheeks burned, because now Richie was staring at him through those scratched glasses, that stupidly proud look plastered all over his stupid face.
“You are…” He could not think of an insult, he was too shaken by what had just happened.
“It’s okay, I can take it, go ahead!” Richie said, grinning from ear to ear, waiting eagerly.
Eddie did not say anything, though.
He spent the entire day without giving Richie a proper response. And Eddie knew the other boy had noticed.
He was just waiting for something. An answer. A shove. Anything.
Something he deserved.
But Eddie was far too distracted by the red in his cheeks, which lingered for hours.
And when he left the quarry later, heading home, he finally allowed his lips, which had trembled all day, to give in to a small laugh.
***
Richie discovered it a week later.
Classes had already started again, and the same thing happened once more.
Eddie was sitting at the round table in the school cafeteria with the others. The noise of the students talking created an irritating and familiar buzz, but that didn't stop Eddie from banging his notebook on the table. The teachers had already handed out the assignments and test materials for them to study.
Eddie was already organizing himself, because he knew very well that exam weeks could be chaotic if they were not carefully planned.
Richie showed up and sat down next to him, like he always did.
“Aren’t you going to eat anything, Richie?” Mike asked, noticing that the boy was not carrying a tray.
“The food today is disgusting. No, thanks. I’d rather starve through the last two classes.”
There was nothing wrong with the food. It was just too healthy for Richie’s extremely childish palate. Eddie could not hear that without feeling the urge to snap back.
“Have you ever considered that maybe your diet is the disgusting one?” Eddie asked, raising an eyebrow.
Richie, in turn, broke into a grin. He seemed pleased with the opportunity.
“I don’t think so, but I know some really disgusting shit your mom and I do, Eds. Want me to start listing them?”
Eddie stuck out his tongue, pulling an irritated face, then turned his attention back to his notebook.
“What’s that?” Richie asked, leaning in to look at Eddie drawing little asterisks on the page.
“Study schedule,” Eddie replied, not giving it much importance. Still, he had to look back at Richie, because he realized his orange juice was being stolen.
“Boring. Can I drink this?” Richie asked, but he did not wait for permission before tipping the cup to his mouth, drinking the juice in long gulps, then placing it back on the table. A bit of liquid remained inside.
“Why didn’t you get your own, asshole?” Eddie asked, knowing very well that Richie did things like that just to annoy him.
“Can’t you see how long the fucking line is?” Richie teased.
“Oh right, I forgot that tasks like that can be hard for you. Some things are just too much for your lazy ass!”
Richie licked his lips. Eddie had to hide a smile. He had to pretend he wasn’t eager to hear a reply coming from them.
“You know what I’m not lazy about? Trust me, I’ve got plenty of energy when it comes to-”
“Beep beep, Richie!” Stan, who had been silent until then, interrupted with an exasperated voice. “Do you two have no sense of place? You keep bickering and completely forget that we’re here!”
“They’re having relationship issues,” Beverly joked, and everyone else laughed.
Eddie blushed at her comment. But when he looked at Richie, he noticed he was just as red. His expression, however, was sulky.
It was weird when their friends had to put an end to their arguments. They were so frequent, and the two were so focused on them that they were unaware of their surroundings until they were done.
If it were up to Eddie, he would taunt Richie all day long until he got rid of that stupid smile and that smug look, always ready to annoy him.
He could even picture it. Richie with red cheeks and wide eyes, surprised by an extremely well articulated comeback from Eddie, right after pulling one of his ridiculous stunts.
It would be a beautiful sight, Eddie thought.
He held the cup of juice tightly in his hands, watching Richie with a fiery gaze. Then he took the rest of the liquid into his mouth.
Everyone stared at him.
“What, now? Have you been cured of your germophobia?” Ben said suddenly, with a shocked laugh. When Eddie looked at his hand, he remembered that Richie had drunk from the same liquid minutes earlier.
When he turned to look at Richie again, he found him staring back, genuinely surprised.
Eddie felt threatened by that look. It was not often that those eyes looked at him that way.
“What? It’s just juice!”
“It’s not just juice. Not for you, who’s obsessed with germs and bacteria and God knows what else,” Stan observed wisely. “Richie drank from that!”
Eddie saw them all watching him, curious. As if he really had been cured of his germophobia, because that was definitely not something he would normally do. Especially not after Richie, who probably only brushed his teeth when he remembered he had them.
Eddie, to everyone’s shock, simply shrugged.
“It’s not like he’s sick or anything,” he said, his voice a little quieter.
He did not dare look at Richie beside him, though, because he knew he was being stared at as well.
The two of them did not provoke each other again for the rest of the day.
***
“Can I ask you something? Are you immune to me?” Richie once asked Eddie.
The question lingered in the dusty air of the clubhouse.
The two of them were sharing the hammock, reading comics and relaxing. They did that a lot, it was their routine after school.
Richie looked at Eddie with a serious expression. His hair was messy and his scratched glasses hung to one side, as usual. He was sweaty and his skin was sticky, just like Eddie's, since they had spent the entire afternoon walking around town under the hot sun with the others.
Eddie lifted his head to look at Richie, over the comic book he was reading.
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about that thing you’re scared of. Germaphobia. Or whatever the hell it’s called,” Richie answered.
“Germophobia?” Eddie corrected with a teasing smile, one eyebrow raised.
Richie rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean,” he said, giving Eddie’s leg a light kick. The hammock swayed anyway, and Eddie’s smile faded immediately.
“What about my germophobia, Richie?” Eddie asked, sighing. He was expecting some kind of joke or an unfunny comment coming from him.
“I asked if you’re immune to me,” Richie replied, his tone a little lower. Eddie could see Richie’s cheeks taking on a faint pink color.
What kind of question is that? Eddie thought.
“I don’t think that’s how immunity works,” he said dryly.
“That’s not-” Richie sighed. “I mean, you don’t seem grossed out when you’re with me. Look at this. We’re literally crammed into the same hammock, and I don’t even fucking know how this thing hasn’t snapped in half yet.” He said, and Eddie kept listening.
“I smell like shit, I’m sweaty, sticky, a complete biological hazard, and you still don’t seem to care,” Richie added.
The observation did not surprise Eddie. It only confirmed how close they were, something he had already noticed and chosen not to comment on.
Earlier that same day, Eddie, Richie and the others had stopped by a market next to the school to buy some junk food, planning to stock it in the clubhouse. Richie, however, had spent the entire walk unwrapping things and chewing on candy nonstop.
Eddie remembered exactly when Richie had shoved his fingers into his mouth, making him try one of the new sweets he had bought.
He had not felt disgusted by Richie’s fingers in his mouth, even knowing about the germs under his dirty nails. He just had not liked the candy, to be honest.
Eddie knew he was being far too comfortable with Richie.
“Well… I guess maybe I don’t feel that bothered when it’s you,” Eddie said out loud. Honest. Looking at Richie.
The boy seemed to take a moment to process the answer, because he just stared at Eddie. Again with that look, the same one from when Eddie drank the juice in the cafeteria days earlier.
“Well, that’s new. It didn’t use to be like that,” Richie finally said, breaking into a teasing smile.
Eddie noticed the proud expression on Richie’s face as he lifted a hand to adjust his glasses.
He wanted to die.
Deep down, Eddie did not want to believe it, though, because if there really were situations where his germophobia did not affect him, why the hell did it have to be exclusively with Richie?
“I said maybe! I don’t know if that’s actually true. Science probably doesn’t even talk about this,” Eddie said, exasperated, already feeling his cheeks burn.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever helps you sleep at night, science boy.” he said, nudging Eddie’s chin with his foot. “Just admit it. I’m special like that.”
Eddie’s brows furrowed at the movement.
“We don’t have enough proof to say that. And for the record, I still think you’re disgusting,” Eddie shot back.
He didn’t believe his own words, though.
Richie didn’t either.
But the boy's expression shifted, just slightly, irritation flashing across his face.
“Oh, yeah? And how exactly are we supposed to prove that?” He paused, then added, “Would a fucking kiss do it?”
***
“What?”
That was all Eddie managed to say in response. He could feel his body going weak with the sudden shift in the air that a simple question like that had caused.
No. Not simple at all. Because Richie had just suggested that a kiss could clear things up.
And it couldn’t be a joke. Maybe it was. But the irritated edge in his tone didn’t feel like a joke. Not a big, stupid, unfunny joke. No, it didn’t feel like that at all.
“I asked if a kiss would settle it,” Richie repeated.
Eddie noticed the way Richie’s expression had changed, drastically. His face looked like it had caught fire, because Eddie had never seen that many shades of red on someone’s face before. The freckles scattered across his skin stood out even more against the flush.
Still, he didn’t let himself dwell on it for long. He couldn’t, because he knew he looked the same, or maybe even worse.
He laughed nervously.
“How so?” Eddie asked, suddenly very aware of the combined weight of their bodies in the hammock.
“It’d be a way to test how much you can handle. Not a bad idea, to be honest, right? ” Richie answered, his tone calming down slowly.
“And why would we need to do that?”
The idea that Richie wanted to do it purely as some kind of test didn’t exactly sit right with Eddie.
“Think about it. You could get over your fears. If you can do it with me, you can do it with anyone else. You don’t want to kiss someone someday and freak out about how many germs are in their mouth, right? I’m just saying, this could help you.”
Richie continued as he adjusted his glasses, his tone suddenly taking on that confident, cocky demeanor that made Eddie roll his eyes. Mentally. Because his body still hadn’t caught up.
But, thinking about it, it could actually help him. As practice. For future situations. Situations that would not involve Richie, obviously. Never Richie.
Eddie bit the inside of his cheek, seriously considering it. He could take advantage of the fact that he didn’t feel uncomfortable around him to learn how to be more comfortable around other people. That was it. That had to be what Richie meant.
“So how would we do this?” Eddie asked, his brows furrowing. Just having to ask something like that made his body tense all over. He had never shown this kind of vulnerability to anyone before.
The fact that it was Richie, of all people, made Eddie wish the club's roof would fall right on his head.
Richie smiled, shifting in the hammock and reaching for Eddie’s arm so they could both sit properly in it.
“Relax, Eduardo. I’m kind of a pro at this stuff,” Richie said, his words coming out a little too fast for someone who was supposedly so confident.
“You are?” Eddie asked, one eyebrow lifting.
“Yeah. I mean, who do you think I am? I can even give you the list of girls who’ve had the honor of-”
“Okay, stop,” Eddie cut in, pulling a bored, irritated face. “I don’t want to hear that. You don’t have to be gross.”
“Alright, alright…”
The heavy air settled back in as silence fell between them.
Eddie regretted stopping Richie from talking, but it was too late now. His body flinched as Richie's hand slowly rose toward his cheek, the other adjusting his glasses once more.
“Now?” Eddie asked, his voice quieter. He mentally scolded himself for how fragile it sounded.
“What, you wanna schedule it to the next month or something? It’s just a kiss” Richie shot back, sarcastic.
But it was all too much for Eddie, not just a kiss. His body started to tremble on its own, the air growing hotter with every inch Richie moved closer. Richie kept his eyes on him, but Eddie couldn’t.
He couldn’t look.
“Hey, relax,” Richie said, his voice suddenly reassuring. “I was just kidding. We can do this… we can do this later, whenever you want.”
However, their foreheads were already pressing together.
And Eddie swallowed.
“We’re already here. Just get it over with,” he said almost in a whisper, irritation and anxiety twisting together in his chest. His hands were tightening against his thighs.
Richie let out a short laugh. “God, you’re so damn grumpy. You’re lucky you’re cute.”
Eddie was about to snap back, but Richie’s lips on his didn’t give him the chance.
He froze.
At first, it didn’t feel like a kiss to Eddie. Maybe it was because of his lack of experience, which kept him motionless for a few long seconds.
But the feeling of Richie’s lips moving so gently against his didn’t disgust him.
And neither did the small jolts running through his body when Richie’s fingers found their way into his hair, threading through the soft waves.
In fact, when Eddie finally registered what was happening and allowed himself to close his eyes, at least to try to respond, he realized that the combination of those movements and touches was strangely pleasant.
And he also realized that Richie was irritatingly good at it, because he couldn’t stop himself from shivering in anticipation when Richie’s mouth parted more, deepening the kiss, his hands moving up to brush the spot just beneath Eddie’s ear.
Richie did everything slowly, too.
Infuriatingly slow.
As if he knew Eddie might panic at any careless movement.
There were sounds of breathing between them. Touches that burned against Eddie’s skin in certain places where Richie’s hand lingered. And the sticky sweat on both their bodies only made Eddie more aware of it all, more sensitive to every contact.
It wasn't bad. Not at all. Eddie wondered why he hadn't done it before.
Oh. Right. The germs involved. A lot of them. And probably because it wouldn't work out if it was with anyone besides Richie.
But he could get used to this quickly, though, if he really wanted to.
Just like he already was.
Pulling Richie closer. Growing restless, wanting to take control.
Like he did with everything else in his life.
One of his hands tightened at the base of Richie’s neck, his body moving instinctively closer over him. The kiss started turning way too wet and noisy. The other hand wandered over Richie in places that felt far too familiar, far too easy. It wasn't a problem, right? After all, he feels very comfortable with him.
Now more than ever.
So, when Richie pulled back all of a sudden, completely breathless, Eddie looked at him, confused, immediately missing the proximity. Secretly, he found himself wanting more.
More of Richie.
For technical purposes, obviously.
“So…” Richie cleared his throat. Eddie hadn’t noticed before, not with how fast everything had happened, but Richie’s hair was completely messed up now. Disheveled shirt. Lips are red and full. His pale skin intensely marked by Eddie's fingers. Not to mention his glasses, fogged up and sitting crooked on his face.
Richie was a little ruined.
And Eddie had done that. He was the one responsible for the mess in front of him.
He hadn’t even realized it.
Eddie was an anxious person by nature. But this was too much. His cheeks burned at the sight.
“Ri-” he tried to speak, worried, but Richie cut him off.
“Damn, Eds…” Richie started, adjusting his glasses. Suddenly, the confidence he’d had earlier slipped away. His voice was completely different now. Unsteady and vulnerable.
“I mean, I’m not exactly an expert,” Richie went on, rubbing a hand over his face, clearly embarrassed, “but I don’t think germs are really a problem for you anymore. Not with this, at least.”
Eddie stayed quiet for a moment.
Yeah. Germs weren’t a problem for Eddie anymore.
Not with Richie, at least.