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Beverly is the first one who points it out.
They’ve all stayed in Derry in the after. (After they defeated It. After Eddie almost died. After Richie dragged his half dead body through mud and dirt and sewage water and into the hospital.) But now that Eddie has finally been discharged and has timidly announced he will go back with Richie to L.A. they are all finally getting ready to leave. Forever – if possible.
Eddie wakes up on their last morning there – late because the painkillers he’s been taking knock him out cold and Richie always hits snooze on the alarm and then walks off like an asshole. (“It’s because you need to rest, Eds!” He keeps saying.)
When he sees the time and realizes their plane leaves in just five hours – he grabs the first pair of pants he can find, and he rushes down the stairs hoping to at least be in time to grab a cup of coffee before they have to leave. He enters the small dinning room that the awful Derry Inn has, and he spots all of his friends sitting round the only busy table.
He drops himself in the sit next to Richie’s who without stopping his conversation with Bill pushes a cup of coffee sitting next to his empty one in front of Eddie.
“I didn’t know you were a fan of Guns n’ Roses.” Bev says, before Eddie gets a chance to open his mouth. Suddenly all eyes are on him.
He is not very sure what she is going on about but when he looks down – he realizes he has not taken off Richie’s t-shirt in which he had fallen asleep in the night before. It’s at least two sizes too big – the neck is worn and the soft fabric falls exposing his shoulder. There’s a washed-out picture of Axl and Slash over his chest.
“Eds is a rebel now, Bevvie.” Richie says before Eddie can speak, and he makes a huge show of it – leaning his arm on the back of Eddie’s chair. “It’s called mid-life crisis. We are getting a bachelor pad.”
Bev laughs in that way that makes her show all her teeth and throw her head back, red hair waving.
“You are not funny.” Eddie murmurs but he knows his cheeks are red. Richie just laughs.
When they go to get their suitcases – Richie presses him against the door and kisses him as the sunlight falls through the half open curtain, their joined hands fisted in the front of his Guns n’ Roses t-shirt.
“This one is mine now.” Eddie whispers with a last kiss against Richie’s lips.
Richie smirks and whispers back, “I don’t mind.” Before leaning down into another kiss.
Eddie lets himself slip into Richie’s touch and forgets what they are both supposed to do, for a little while.
-
Bill is the first one that comes visit them.
It’s a long time after Derry. And it’s not – not that Eddie doesn’t want to see their friends. It’s just – him and Richie have been dealing with this fragile thing they have. All of his life – or at least what he could remember until a few months ago, Eddie had always followed rules. He always had to be the perfect son and the perfect husband and do all the things his mother and his ex-wife wanted to avoid the disappointed looks and angry sighs. But with Richie – Eddie can just…be.
With Richie he can be loud and angry, and he can talk back and say what he thinks. Richie actually wants to hear it – Richie challenges him. Eddie can’t believe he forgot the electricity he feels between them every time one of them starts talking back to the other. There’s no malice behind it – it’s just. The thing is that with Richie, he can also be soft and sweet – he can be tired, and he can let go.
They are good together.
Bill has been living in L.A. for the past weeks, so he starts coming over to their place – a few times at first but then they end up falling into a routine the three of them. It’s nice. It’s obvious Bill is kind of lonely – or searching for inspiration for his new book. Or both.
One Tuesday afternoon – Eddie goes out for groceries and when he gets back Bill is there, in the kitchen with Richie. As soon as he walks through the door, he senses Richie’s eyes on him – he realizes he is still wearing Richie’s hoodie that looks giant on him.
Bill says hi and Eddie really wishes Richie would say something witty at this point – before Bill picks up on what is actually going on – but all he does is stutter “Uh.”
Eddie moves to leave the bag on the counter top and the hoodie slides a bit across his shoulder revealing a strip of collarbone. Richie’s mouth waters.
When Eddie turns around, a smile curls at the edge of his mouth because he knows that look.
“Really?” he asks and he tries to sound unimpressed but his body moves a step forward towards Richie – who’s gotten up from his chair to meet him halfway. “Now?”
Bill looks between them – confused.
“I can’t help myself.” Richie breathes out and he takes a final step forward, moving his long fingers under Eddie’s hoodie, pressing them against his ribs and scar tissue. “You’re hot.”
Eddie laughs and pushes himself up to kiss him.
Bill curses loudly – he even stutters a bit the way he does when he is nervous and gets up to leave not before saying “Fuck guys, at least wait until I’m gone!” but Richie laughs and lifts Eddie up to lay him on the counter – knocking the groceries out of their way and Eddie cannot find it him to give a shit.
-
It’s not a thing.
It’s not like Eddie wears Richie’s clothes all the time. Because they are not two teenagers who act like they’ve just discovered what sex is – no matter what Bill says. But Richie does leave his clothes all over the house and sometimes Eddie doesn’t feel like moving from his place in the couch.
But he enjoys having Richie’s gaze following him around all day. It’s nice to know that someone wants him like that, all the time.
They have Mike over for dinner – he is been doing his great trip around the whole country and finally landed in L.A. – and Eddie is wearing a pair of sweatpants that looks ridiculous on him. He has to roll them up at the bottom because they are at least two sizes too big. Damn Richie and his overgrown limbs.
The thing is – he’s never really been allowed to be anything less than pristine. In his life, before all of this, he would have never been able to wear sweatpants for dinner. Everything is so different with Richie.
That night when they are sitting on the couch sharing a drink after dinner, Eddie crosses his legs and Richie trails off, his eyes go dark in a way that makes Eddie kind of worried that he’ll stand up and drag him to the nearest room. They look at each other a couple of seconds too long before Mike starts laughing at them. Eddie tells him to fuck off, but Richie’s eyes stay on him for the rest of the night.
Later – Mike excuses himself saying he is going out to drink with Bill and Richie does drag Eddie to their bedroom and slowly takes off the sweatpants, pressing kisses against the skin of his thighs. He looks up at Eddie with his eyes wide behind his glasses – and sounds out of breath when he mutters, “Eds.”
So, maybe it is a thing.
It’s worth it to see the way Richie’s entire expression changes when he sees him, how he kisses him all over – saying nonsense against Eddie’s skin.
-
It’s not the fact that Richie’s t-shirts are his, or that they smell like Richie. It’s just they are soft and – comfortable.
(And they do smell a bit like Richie.)
Richie has an extensive collection of band t-shirts, all washed out and loose. Eddie swims in them. He has a Queen t-shirt that is faded and tattered and is the most comfortable thing Eddie has ever worn.
The day after Ben and Bev’s wedding – they are all staying at some ridiculous place that Ben and Bev rented to celebrate after, and they are supposed to be leaving but it’s still early and Richie is fast asleep, so Eddie decides to make a quick trip to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.
(Their friends had made fun of them the night before – when they had decided to leave mid party. Mike had actually called them an old married couple and Richie had been so happy – and set on proving they were not boring – he had dragged Eddie into the bathroom and kissed him pushing him against the wall while the guests fumbled with the door outside.)
Ben catches him – he is walking out of the bathroom towards his room, his eyes are still clouded with sleep and alcohol, but he smiles at Eddie and eyes his choice of sleepwear. His smile is kind, peaceful. Knowing that they could have not had all of this but against of all odds – they do.
Eddie smiles back and goes to grab his water.
When he goes back to their bedroom, Richie grabs him by the front of his t-shirt and kisses him and Eddie feels happiness swell into his chest.
-
Somedays Eddie spends wearing nothing but Richie’s clothes.
They are all so big he feels like he’s floating – they are walking down the supermarket aisle trying to decide what to have for dinner. Richie is going on and on about which canned foods would be best to have in case of a zombie apocalypse – and it’s so ridiculous, so achingly familiar – the endless stream of conversation and the weight of Richie’s hand holding his.
“I love you.” Eddie says – because he can.
Richie’s eyes go all mushy and disgusting – unbelieving. The same wonder still creeps into his eyes every time Eddie says those words to him. He leans down and presses his forehead against Eddie’s.
Eddie hears a shutter somewhere – he’s learned to ignore them but it still makes something akin to anxiety flare up in his stomach. It’s impossible to be anywhere public in L.A. without being photographed as Richie’s hot little side piece, as Richie so kindly likes to put it, but Eddie doesn’t care.
Their friends have taken a liken to these paparazzi snapshots of them doing the most mundane things – they tease them mercilessly, sending the pictures over and over and even using them as profile picture for their chat group.
“Bev is going to love that one,” Richie comments but he doesn’t pull away. “She’s too invested in this relationship.”
Eddie laughs but his hands run up Richie’s back almost absently. Richie plays with the hem of Eddie’s sweater – a soft blue thing he pulled from Richie’s closet.
“You like me wearing your clothes.” Eddie says but it’s not a question – it’s a statement. “You are really into it.”
Richie shrugs but he doesn’t look embarrassed – he moves his body to shelter Eddie from where they heard the shutter noise come from and smirks when he says,
“I’m into getting you out of them, Eds.” And he slips his hand – squeezing Eddie’s ass to punctuate his statement.
Eddie snorts and Richie looks he is about to answer but he is stopped by a kiss.
He raises his middle finger to ruin the next shot.
-
There’s always the moment when Richie touches him with devoted hands – the moment where he looks up at him with his baby blues and looks breathless.
That moment is just for them.
When Richie slides his fingers around Eddie’s wrists. When he runs his fingers through Eddie’s hair and Eddie tips his head back. When he presses “I love you” against the skin of Eddie’s neck. When Richie pulls him in, pulls him in like he always does, like he always did, never stopped – when he pulls him in and kisses him with his mouth full of love.
It’s too private to tell.
The feeling is so overwhelming – love seeping into their skin, easy and heavy. Hot like Richie’s palms on Eddie’s stomach, trailing lower. It’s everything that makes them who they are, who they are together.
Richie’s clothes remain strewn on the floor, enough to dress them both.