thespherelogs | ( closed ) i think you ought to stay away from here

Entry tags:

( closed ) i think you ought to stay away from here

Who: Eddie Kaspbrak & Richie Tozier
When: july 14
What: Eddie + Richie get caught in an event dome ( followed by long overdue communication )
Warnings: event-related trauma; probably references to IT-canon (child-murdering monsters! parental abuse!); probably canon-related homophobia references —— will update as needed

( Things are...better. Maybe. They're talking, and that's already a huge improvement on the weeks of silence that gnawed away at Eddie painfully. There's an elephant in every room they walk into, of course there is, but Eddie certainly won't be the one to bring things up. Frankly, he's just happy that Richie's willing to talk to him again, after what happened.

So it's not perfect, but it's good. Things only feel a little stilted as Eddie chats his way through the walk, and it's only slightly obvious that he's desperately filling any silence with noise of some kind. It's not perfect, but he'll take it. Honestly he doesn't entirely remember why they've gone out this time – looking for something for HTC, he thinks, but it's hardly important. Eddie didn't even argue about the safety of the domes before he agreed, and now that they're out he's only regretting that a little.

After all, they haven't run into problems yet right?

Something feels wrong right away. Eddie's brows burrow into a deep frown and there's this gut feeling that just punches through him. He takes a deep breath in and turns to tell Richie that they have to go–

Richie isn't there.

Panic claws at him instantly, and there's barely time to suck air into his lungs before he starts calling out about as loud as he can manage. )

Richie? Rich, where did you go? Richie?!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Richie likes to pretend they've done a good job of going back to normal. He shoves jagged puzzle pieces together, smiling too big for his face and cracking jokes that are bad even by his standards. It hurts.

But he has Eddie back, so it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it did before, when they weren't talking. And Eds is so good and kind and such a stuffy asshole that sometimes Richie manages to forget about that bastard elephant entirely, and his laughter is honest, and he remembers why he would do anything to keep this.

Today they're on a bullshit quest, searching for something to insulate Hopper's cage a little better, and although she deserves a warm and lovely home, she honestly already has one. It's just as good a reason as any other to wander around the domes with his best friend in tow.

Richie's halfway through an awful goof, the British accent (he's picked up some tips from a reluctant Llewellyn) blaring, when he turns to watch Eddie's reaction- but he's gone, dropped behind Richie or caught his eyes on something more interesting.

So Richie rolls his eyes and turns to grab his attention back, but Eddie isn't behind him either.

He's not anywhere.

A strange sort of cold panic sinks into Richie's gut, and he can't explain why he's suddenly so afraid. He opens his mouth to call out for Eddie, but his voice comes out quiet and stilted with fear instead.]

Eds?

( Eddie has been harping on about the potential dangers of exploring the domes as long as they've been here, and really nothing that bad has happened. Of course there was the dragon incident, that can't be ignored, but really the injury wasn't the terrible thing that happened that day and they both know that. Really, it's all been very...safe, despite Eddie's worst fears and most outlandish paranoias. Maybe it's made them too complacent. Maybe that's why something awful has finally happened.

Because it's pretty obvious that something awful has happened here. Richie wouldn't just abandon Eddie, not even as a joke. He wouldn't. )

Richie, this isn't funny.

( God, he can't even say 'I told you so', and isn't that a kicker.

Even the air around him feels dead, the silence chokes and the space is so vastly empty that it ends up sinking in as a claustrophobic panic that threatens to wreck him entirely. It's no wonder that frustration mounts quickly, and it doesn't take long for Eddie to start absolutely bellowing. )

If anything has even touched him, I swear to God I'll fucking kill you. ( His words just echo back at him, and it makes him angrier. ) What the fuck is happening right now?!

Edited 2020-07-14 13:40 (UTC)

[He knows with a weighty certainty that something is very wrong here, that Eddie isn't just pulling a prank or hasn't just dipped on him. Eddie wouldn't just leave, not even with everything going on between them right now- but more than that, he can feel it.

Richie's overly familiar, at this stage, with the sensation of chills running down his spine. His body has grown attuned to the feeling of the world around him breaking it's own rules. Every time that fucking clown was around, before that, anytime someone went missing in town- and now, as he glances wildly around the suddenly deathly silent dome. Chills wrack him, and Richie's stomach starts to tie itself in knots. An image springs to his mind entirely unbidden of Eddie's face on a missing poster.

He's louder this time, his panic bubbling to the surface, a quick boil.]

Eddie? Where are you!? Eddie?

[Richie begins to move, pacing quickly back the way they came, searching frantically for anything, calling out as he goes.]

( Later it will be abundantly clear that Eddie should have turned on his heel and exited, but hindsight is nothing if not 20/20. Instead Eddie makes a much more questionable choice, fuelled entirely by rage and fear. He marches forward, like posture alone will give him the bravery he needs to confront– something. Whatever is making this happen. )

I'm. Serious!

( If his words crack as he shouts, it doesn't matter. If his hands shake as he clenches them on either side, he ignores it. If there's a wet lump in his throat that feels awfully threatening, it doesn't matter. He's focused.

Something can't happen to Richie, not now. Not when things were finally starting to get on the way to good again. Not with Eddie this close to drafting the perfect apology that would fix everything. )

Richie! Can you hear me?!

( ...If his voice drops abruptly in volume, it seems there's no one around the hear it: )

Just give him back.

[Richie doesn't for a second entertain the notion that Eddie could just be completely gone for good, because if he considered that, he wouldn't be capable of keeping his shit together well enough to keep looking for him, and he has to keep doing that. Every second passing feels like losing vital time.

As if he's the one that's lost, Richie starts to retrace his steps, walking back towards the edge of the dome they'd ventured into.]

Eddie, if you can hear me, I swear I- [What? What can he even promise?] I won't stop looking. I know you gotta be here somewhere. I'm just- I'll just check right outside, maybe-

[He talks to himself more than Eddie now, words growing more and more frenzied and running together as he continues.]

Fuck. Please. Please, please.

[He knows this kind of fear. He remembers feeling like he was holding Eddie together in his hands, unable to protect him, unable to do anything but keep Eddie's eyes on his. Useless. Certain that he was about to lose something so important that self preservation had no right to take up any space in his head.

Richie shudders and picks up the pace, running the rest of the way to the edge of the dome, and stepping just outside into the corridor to shout.]

Eddie?

( Eddie had been getting somewhat slack about carrying his inhaler with him everywhere. It ended up left in a drawer almost as often as it made it into his pocket, and for whatever strange reason he'd been using it a lot less too – at least right up until The Incident.

Maybe that's some weird blessing in disguise, because six weeks earlier it would have been a fifty/fifty shot of him actually having the thing on hand when his chest started to seize up. These days it's never far, not that he feels particularly grateful about that. Even now as he takes a rattling gasp through the plastic mouthpiece, he thinks it's not a worthwhile trade.

Still. There's no denying that an asthma attack right now would be...unhelpful. He takes another wheezing breath from it, shoves the inhaler back in his pocket, and feels largely no better than before. Great. )

If this is some fucking clown bullshit I swear to God I'm gonna rip your stupid head off!

( It turns out the inhaler did do the trick, because Eddie is back to bellowing at the top of his lungs. His angry little steps become somewhat directionless, powering around in vague circles rather than just steadily further into the dome.

It's not making him feel any better without something responding. At this point he'd even take seeing Pennywise's hellish features loom, at least then he'd know where the danger was coming from. Like this it's just everywhere, and finally he's so frustrated that all he can do is fist his hands into his hair and scream furiously. )

[He doesn't know what he was expecting, for Eddie to pop out from behind fucking nothing, somehow materialise out of thin air and let Richie start breathing again? Obviously this doesn't happen, and Richie is right on the verge of something terrible and all-encompassing, a feeling that crawls it's way up his spine - and then he hears a sound that is still so incredibly familiar and immediately recognisable, regardless of whether or not it's been awhile since he last heard it.

Richie spins in place, breath catching, towards the sound of Eddie's inhaler. He's fast enough to watch Eddie beginning to circle, to see his face scrunch up as he screams.

It's not a fun, playful sort of scream, like every time Richie had dunked him underwater at the quarry. There's genuine frustration and anger in there, and Richie can't stand to hear it, but at the same time, he's so fucking glad.

The tension largely drains from his body (there's still something weird going on here, something isn't right at all, but Eddie's back so it'll be okay) and Richie laughs and wipes a hand over his face, disguising the movement of his sleeve against his eyes as best he can.]

Eds! Holy shit. Oh,god. What the hell? I love the energy, but where the fuck was that belting two seconds ago? Where were you?

( Unsurprisingly, by the time Eddie's lungs run out of air and he has to stop screaming he doesn't feel any better. For a moment he just stares up, chest heaving with breaths and entire body shaking with some unpleasantly familiar mix of fear and rage.

He shouldn't know this feeling so well. It's not fair.

He thinks the looming mystery evil behind all of this deserves to know as much. )

This isn't fucking fair!

( That didn't help either, but now something is kind of building in him, and frankly Eddie has had enough of keeping everything in. It hasn't made him any happier, it hasn't made things any easier, and it sure as hell hasn't stopped this awful bullshit from happening.

He's been biting his tongue for days, weeks, months ~~YEARS~~ and he can't do it any more. )

You can't just take him, you can't– I won't– ( He yells again, more frustrated than ever and he knows he must look absolutely insane screaming up at the sky and pacing frantically, but it's not like anyone can see.

He's by himself, he doubts even the force behind this can hear him at this point, but he gets louder and louder all the same. He can't stop now. ) I can't make things right again if you don't give him back, you psycho prick!

[He doesn't answer. Eddie just keeps storming and raging and yelling to the sky like Richie hasn't spoken a word, and that churning in Richie's gut is back with a vengeance. He swallows, near choking on the way his mouth has dried right up, before taking a step back into the dome.

And Eddie vanishes.

Richie stumbles back, breathing hard, and somewhere between the shutter of his eyes, Eddie slides back into place, still circling and screaming.]

Eddie...

[Richie murmurs his name, helplessly and quietly, because he gets it now. He understands that it won't matter how loud he shouts.]

Fuck!

[He just stands there, hands balled up tightly at his sides, staring at Eddie beseechingly. Listening. Hoping. Just leave- please, just leave. The worst part is that he knows Eddie won't. Give him back, he says, and Richie cracks. They're the angriest tears he's ever cried, hot against his skin and wiped away quickly with frustrated, shaky hands.]

You don't have to... there's nothing to fix. We're okay. You're alright. I'm the one who- I have to tell you this shit.

( At some point during his furious ranting the bright idea occurs to Eddie that he'll feel better if he violently flings his inhaler across the dome. It doesn't make him feel any better, not exactly shocking, and to make it worse he has to stomp after it and pray that it isn't shattered.

This at least has the benefit of putting him closer to the entrance. It's not helpful, because he still hasn't made the connection to leave, but at least it's audible for Richie as Eddie grumbles in a more normal volume. )

That was stupid, Jesus I'm going to have a stupid asthma attack and die before I even tell him why I was being so stupid and Richie's probably going to die too and it's– BULLSHIT.

( He doesn't have a clue how close Richie is as he grabs the inhaler up off of the floor, mercifully unbroken, and Eddie wonders if now might be an appropriate time to cry. He doesn't though, just stares at the blue plastic in his hands with that white hot fury still burning him up inside. )

This isn't how it was supposed to go. I wasn't– we weren't... I just need more time.

[Eddie wanders closer, and Richie holds his breath, thinking come on, come on, almost, just pick it up and keep going- but of course he doesn't, and Richie sinks to his knees, overcome with frustration.

There's no point replying, so he just listens, eyes still shining as he looks up at Eddie from where he kneels, turning each word over and over in his mind.

More time for what? It's funny (it's really not), because Richie had been thinking this too. How he just needed a little time to bolster his courage, he just needed to wait for the right moment to confess everything, apologise properly, and it was all bullshit, he knows it was, because it's only now that Eddie can't hear a word he says, and Richie can feel how awful it is to be denied the opportunity, that he truly wants to speak every truth he's held back.

He wonders what Eddie's truths are.

I was being stupid is the one that really catches him up, though. He can't decipher it. He wants Eddie back and safe more than he wants the answer, though.]

( It sometimes surprises people, but Eddie isn't much of a crier.

He has a lot of reactions, a lot of emotions that come out in a variety of (usually loud) ways, but his tears are saved for special occasions. Ending up on the wrong end of Bowers and company, being forced away from his friends after one of the most traumatic afternoons of his life, somewhat accidentally kissing his best friend — that sort of thing. Whatever is happening now, scary as it might be, doesn't cut it yet.

There's no real telling how long it takes, exactly. He does a lot of vocal pleading, a lot more internal fretting. He stops shouting at nothing eventually, but his expression stays twisted up with anger and he never really relaxes his hands out of their tight fists entirely. He uses his inhaler three more times. He kicks an inanimate object once, and his foot is still throbbing when he decides enough is enough.

He's lost the furious stomps at least, by the time he moves towards the exit. Instead he's just sort of slumping along, like he doesn't have much hope that this will prove any more fruitful than the yelling and kicking. Still, before he leaves he has to say something. )

Richie, if you can hear me..I'm not leaving you here, I promise. I'm not. I'm gonna come back, I just need some help. I can't find you if I can't even see your dumb face. Just– please don't do anything stupid, please. I'm coming back, I am—

( He leaves, and suddenly Richie is right there.

Eddie's mouth snaps shut, and he wants to say something about Richie's tear streaked face or the freaky shit that just happened, or anything really, but instead his chest just heaves and he doesn't say a word. )

Edited 2020-07-17 14:38 (UTC)

[Richie, on the other hand, has a lot more tears in him than most would expect, but he rarely allows them to be seen. He's a quiet crier, the sort who bottles it up and hides it for when he's alone, into hands, into pillows.

Ever since they arrived, Eddie has seen a lot of them, though. He wonders what the fuck the universe is trying to pull with that shit.

Richie doesn't move as Eddie continues to pace, and plead. He sits through all of it, afraid to look away for an instant, just in case something changes and he can't find him again. He has no idea how this works, or if maybe something will give, so he talks sometimes, too. Eddie's name. Can you hear me yet? There's never an answer.

He's tense the whole time, leaning forward and chewing his lip to pieces, and when Eddie starts talking like he's finally leaving, Richie's hunched over spine straightens up fast enough that he feels something twinge.

Finally. Finally- and Richie wonders at the last second, his heart seizing, if maybe it won't work the same for Eddie, if Richie will be invisible to him for good-

But he can see the difference on Eddie's face the moment he must pop back into place, suddenly existing again the way Eddie did for him, and Richie crumples with relief. He clambers to his feet, and he throws his arms tightly around Eddie with no regard for the space he's carefully maintained in recent days.

His fingers twist too tight into Eddie's shirt, and his hair is probably in Eddie's face, but he doesn't care. All that matters is Eddie seeing him and knowing Richie sees him too.]

Welcome back, you fucking human foghorn.

( Richie doesn't appear so much as it's suddenly like he never disappeared, and it's a dizzying sensation that must be responsible for why Eddie just stares when faced with the sight of the person he was screaming himself hoarse over only minutes ago.

That must be why he doesn't protest when Richie comes closer to him than they've been in weeks, why he doesn't stop it before they're already locked in a fiercer hug than they've shared in a long time. That must be why he hugs back, before he can remind himself that he's not supposed to be touching Richie any more. Not after what he did, not while Richie still doesn't know. It's just not right. )

It's not my fault you're so deaf you couldn't hear me, asshole.

( Eddie grumbles right back, but he's certainly not angry any more. Just relieved that Richie's here, that he seems fine, that whatever just happened seems to be over.

The moment where Richie's words actually sink in is abundantly obvious, because Eddie suddenly goes stiff as a board. Richie heard him in there. He doesn't know how much, barely remembers how incriminating any of his wild ranting was, but he feels sick all the same.

He doesn't let Richie go, but that's possibly only because Eddie suddenly feels like he can't move at all. )

You could hear me?

[He can feel the moment where Eddie realises, because he's suddenly rigid and unmoving, but Richie doesn't let go. Partly because Eddie is still holding on tight, and partly because he's selfish. Because he needs, at least for a little longer, the proof that Eddie is right here with him.

Richie nods, a little stiff and jittery too, digs for the right words. He doesn't want to make Eddie upset, or scared, but he wants answers to the questions ready to race out of his mouth. When you say 'being stupid', are you talking about how we-? What did you need more time for? How would you feel if I told you-

God, he's not going to be sick all over Eddie. That would be traumatising for the both of them.]

Yeah. It just- look, you have it all wrong.

[Not a great start.]

I'm the one that- if anyone has to fix things, it's me. So- so I don't know why you were talking about being stupid, because everything's my fucking fault anyway. And I'm sorry. I'm-

[Of course he ended up here, adding another apology to Eddie to his tally, and no, he refuses to also cry in front of him again, bites down hard on the inside of his cheek and tilts his head back stubbornly before looking down again.

He meets Eddie's eyes, because he deserves that at the very least.]

I'm really sorry I'm like this. I don't want it to make you feel like shit.

( It's no secret that Eddie isn't a great listener. He's a jarring mix of impatient and loud that often translates in Eddie talking over people, getting distracted. He's never been great at just sitting and listening, which makes it very odd that he's doing it right now

Eddie shuts his mouth and lets Richie speak, and it turns out Richie has so much to say when Eddie doesn't interrupt him.

But he's painted a very specific picture of That Day in his mind at this point, bolstered by supporting evidence that was really more ambiguous at best, and now that Richie is saying just enough to challenge his image of that moment, Eddie's stunned.

He needs to say something. He has to say something. )

Richie...

( Quite suddenly, very unusually, Eddie bursts into tears. )

[Richie really had no idea how this was going to go down, or what kind of reaction Eddie might have, but he wasn't considering Eddie crying as even a fucking possibility. He gapes stupidly, eyes blinking owlishly behind his glasses, before he's pulling Eddie back into a tight hug.

He's so god damned confused, unmoored and lost at sea, when he felt a second ago like he had a pretty good idea of where he was sailing.]

Oh jesus, please don't cry. I don't know what- fuck. Um. It's- hey, it's okay. It's alright, Eds.

Jesus.

( Richie just hugs him tighter, like Eddie deserves any of this at all. He's messed everything up so monumentally and Richie is still the one comforting. It's not fair, and he's as overwhelmed as he is frustrated. )

Stop apologising! It's not your fault, it's not. Richie I did this, I was the one who–

( He still can't say it.

Richie's tearing himself apart thinking that he's the one at fault here, and all Eddie can do is clam up and stutter through half-sentences worse than goddamn Bill. It's not good enough. )

Richie. I shouldn't have...done that. Okay? I don't know what I was thinking. It's not your fault I have- these feelings. Okay? I'm sorry. I'll fix it okay, just stop saying sorry.

( He's absolutely still crying when he pulls back, sets his hands on Richie's shoulders and looks him right in the eyes. It's probably the bravest that Eddie has ever been. )

I'll fix it, I swear, just don't hate me and please don't say you're sorry.

Edited 2020-07-18 10:51 (UTC)

Eddie- Eddie, what do you mean, 'feelings'?

[His heart is gonna thunder right out his chest. Richie breath shudders as he tries to scoop in lungfuls of air, but it doesn't do shit, the space between he and Eddie is thin and empty and gives him nothing.

He needs to ask this right. Needs to give himself an out.]

I'm the one who [he almost fumbles again, powers through-] wanted that to happen. I'm the one who thought he needed to feel guilty about how he felt. Do you... you get it, right?

I don't- [He laughs, high and fuelled by nerves, barely daring to hope.] I couldn't hate you Eddie. Especially not... god, not if- sorry, I don't know what I'm-

What?

( Eddie was expecting Richie to forgive him, if he's honest. Especially since getting out of that messed up dome, but even before then a small part of him knew that they were probably going to figure it out. Richie was trying - God knows more than Eddie has tried - and Eddie figured he would be able to get himself sorted, more or less.

He hadn't expected...whatever that was. )

You wanted- but I- fuck.

( He's rewriting his image of that day so fast it's making him dizzy now, and he clutches tighter at Richie's shoulder. Shakes him a little too for good measure, because there's a lot going on and he doesn't know what to do with himself at all.

Instead of grabbing his inhaler, he keeps hold of Richie instead. Somehow staring at those glasses is doing something to keep him grounded, and he swallows hard as he tries to get the words out properly. )

Richie. Do you- do you know....I wanted to? I just thought you didn't want me to.

Edited 2020-07-18 12:44 (UTC)

[Eddie shakes him, digs his grip in tighter, and Richie feels thankful for it, because it's the only thing tethering him as he hangs here, lost and nervous, waiting for Eddie to keep speaking. He laughs nervously again, quiet, as Eddie just stares and processes. It's the scariest and brightest limbo he's ever been in, the possibility of something wonderful and the dread of everything crashing and burning warring with each other. And then.

I wanted to.

He sucks in a sharp breath, finally, finally getting enough air, and it's dizzying the way it all goes to his head. God, he feels so fucking overheated. His face feels like it's burning, and his hands, still curled around Eddie's back, are sweating like crazy. Words. He has to-]

I wanted you to. [It comes out in a total rush.] I mean I- I mean I liked it. If you did.

Edited 2020-07-18 13:26 (UTC)

( I wanted you to.

Jesus Christ, Eddie's going to pass out. His vision swims again, not that he cares. For the first time in weeks he feels like he can properly breathe, he doesn't give a shit if he's crying right now. He's saddled the weight of that stupid, impulsive decision for so long now. The notion that it might have been more mutual than he ever could have dreamed is just...

...well. It sure is something. )

I would have liked it more if I didn't freak out right after.

( Hindsight is, as always, 20/20 - it's so much easier to see Richie's reaction for what it was now. It's so much more apparent that he reacted to Eddie's recoil, not the kiss itself. It's easy to see exactly how they got into this mess.

Eddie can be articulate, if it will stop them from ending up in this situation again. He can learn to express himself properly, if it'll stop Richie from looking so hurt again. )

I only liked it because I like you.

( There. Unambiguous, unable to be confused. Exactly what he means. His chest heaves like maybe he needs to grab his inhaler, but Eddie doesn't move to get it. This is absolutely more important. )

[Eddie looks like he's going to cry, and like usual, Richie gets stupid impulses, like wanting to put a thumb under his eye, only now, for the first time in his whole fucking life, for the years that he's been this way, he thinks maybe it would be alright if he did.

(He doesn't because he's not there yet. But entertaining the thought is wild enough.)

Richie snorts, a loud, gross sound, and then shakes his head. He ends up eyes locked with Eddie's again, like magnets pull him back.]

No fucking shit, Eds. No, I loved that part, the horrified look on your face was the highlight of the experience for me, personally.

[He can joke about it, because he thinks he gets that now, the fear, because Eddie is the same as him, felt the same way he did, and god, Richie must have looked just as terribly stunned, huh? No wonder this fell apart so easily.

No jokes spring as quickly to mind when Eddie next speaks, though. Instead Richie is painfully aware of how his face just sort of morphs into a dopey, open mouthed grin as the words hit him, right in the chest. He's actually quiet for a second, awed and completely overcome. Happy. Fuck, he's happy.

He's scared, too.]

Me too. Me too. About you, obviously, I don't- I'm not like the Narcissus of the spheres, fawning over my own reflection, I-

[Eddie was brave. He can be too. It's only a fraction of the truth, really.]

Yeah. I like you.

Stop it, I didn't plan it or anything.

( His face flushes red, but Eddie's smiling now. Grinning even, despite the joke at his embarrassing expense. It's funny now, of course it is, because everything is actually okay. More or less. Sure it took a traumatising trip through a random dome to get there, but honestly Eddie can barely remember the fear of that place now.

How could he possibly spend any time thinking about that, when Richie is beaming at him like this?

Eddie's hands flex a little against Richie's shoulders, but he doesn't make any attempt to move them. If anything he shuffles a little closer, holding on with a little more intent. It's not exactly a big step, hardly dramatic at all really, but after weeks of barely even touching elbows it feels enormous. )

Good. I'm– that's really good. ( It doesn't even begin to express how he's actually feeling right now, but there's honestly no way for Eddie to put that into words right now.

His stomach is still swooping like he's just fallen off a building, and his cheeks are going to hurt soon from how widely he's smiling. There's certainly no tears any more, but his face is still tracked with the evidence, and he thinks Richie's cheeks are probably in a similar state.. It's messy. But he doesn't care. )

Do we, uh... can we have a do-over then?

( Even after their confessions, Eddie's heart still thunders in his chest as he asks. )

[Anything that happened or is happening outside of these five minutes, and this corridor, currently doesn't mean shit to Richie.

He tracks the movement of Eddie stepping closer to him with wide eyes, and his mouth feels dry again, but it's not because of anything malicious in Richie's mind, this time. He withdraws his hands from Eddie quick as flash to wipe them on his pants, the wide grin still on his face daring Eddie to comment, and then they're back on Eddie, hovering awkwardly for just long enough to be noticeable until they settle, one on his waist, one against the small of his back.]

Yup. Good.

[He echoes the word, intending it to be teasing, but he's unable to keep the smile out of his voice, and instead just sounds like an overjoyed doofus. Probably no way to play that one off. Richie doesn't even care. He doesn't care about anything else at all.]

Well, Edward Kasprak. [He's stalling. Falling back on a lilted tone and raised eyebrows, because what the hell else is he meant to do, when Eddie just says that? Says that he wants to kiss Richie again? This is the kind of thing he fully expected to never, ever hear outside of a good dream.]

I normally don't put out before the first date, but we've already had a traumatic experience, so, you know, uh- [The joke is falling apart real quick, because there's no joking way to say 'hell yes'. His eyes drop, incredibly void of subtlety, to Eddie's mouth.] Better make up for it.

[It's clumsy, and yes, messy, when Richie leans in to try again.]

( To his credit, Eddie only worries a normal amount when Richie's hands briefly fall away. He doesn't spiral, doesn't panic. He just sort of frowns a little, and it smooths away the moment they're back. This is already so incredibly different from where they were just a few weeks ago – hell, a few hours ago – that it's easy to feel confident.

He doesn't expect it to last, but while its here Eddie feels invincible.

The suggestion of a Voice doesn't even throw him off – it's not a choice Richie makes, any more than the wheezing of Eddie's chest and he gets that. When the moment isn't this huge he'll probably have more to say about it, but for now he gets it. This has been a long time coming, of course they're nervous. )

Beep beep, alright?

( He takes care this time, leaning in slower. Eddie's hand comes up until his fingers are touching Richie's cheek, and he's not really guiding anything so much as keeping track of where his face is. It means that this time, when their lips connect it is actually on target. The stupid smiles are only impeding on things a little bit.

It's kind of perfect, actually. )

[Richie's riding a similar high, feeling better than he can remember feeling ever before, the weight of years rendered insignificant. It's staggering, but in a very good way, and only a little bit scary, like the rush from a carnival drop tower.

He sighs dreamily as Eddie leans in to meet him, barely joking, and covers Eddie's hand with his own.]

Lips zippered.

[For once, he means it. Richie shuts his mouth and presses back into the kiss, and boy howdy, it was one thing to kiss Eddie on a whim, his hands sticky with blood and his head swimming immediately afterwards with shame, but this is an entirely different beast.

He was scared, then. Richie's been scared for a really long time. But right now, thinking of nothing but scribbling on a cast and socked feet nudging his face and two ice creams, never one, he doesn't feel scared at all.

After a moment, he pulls back just far enough to start peppering sloppy kisses all over Eddie's cheek, smacking his lips exaggeratedly, with an accompanying mwah! each time.]

( There's a strong urge to look around them and make sure there's no one observing them. A holdover from Derry, naturally, where even a hand clapped on a shoulder too gently could result in all sorts of ridicule and torture. If anyone were to catch them kissing back home–

well, Eddie doesn't like to think about how that might end.

It's different here though, and sure there are some pretty awful dangers lurking but at least he doesn't have to worry about the consequences of Richie scattering kisses over his face. All Eddie has to do is scrunch his face up, grabbing hold of Richie's shoulders to keep him from going anywhere even as he shrieks out a laugh. )

Lippers zippered.

( There's a pink flush to his cheeks and ears that he just can't get rid of, and even as he tries to get out a form of protest it just comes out hollow. After all, he is giggling through the whole thing as he wiggles his head out of Richie's reach. )

Richie, Jesus you're gonna slobber all over my face!

Edited 2020-08-08 04:26 (UTC)

[Richie's heard Eddie laugh a whole lot of different ways.

He's heard how Eddie laughs when he's mad and doesn't want to, but can't help it. He's heard the way he wheezes when he's trying not to let anyone hear, and the wild sort of shriek he makes when he's not thinking about who hears at all, like the time Richie tried to dunk Stan at the quarry, and copped a mouthful of water for his efforts, instead.

This laugh is different. It's more like a giggle- and he's sure saying as much would earn a smack from Eddie- unrestrained and joyful, and it fills up every hollow between Richie's ribs. He's still astounded this is happening.]

Not if I keep my lippahs zippah'd I won't!

[But he stops all the same, instead just standing there staring at Eddie and grinning like he doesn't even know he's doing it.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

( closed ) i think you ought to stay away from here

this is a place worse than hell i swear to god

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject