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1. Mike Hanlon
Mike didn't know why he hadn't seen it sooner, maybe it was because they had always acted that way together but Mikes perspective on Eddie and Richie’s relationship had changed when Eddie had sprained his arm at the quarry. The losers club were meeting for a picnic and a swim, Ben brought the snacks, Eddie the sunscreen and Stan the drinks. His group were all sitting in their usual spots, taking handful of snacks and taking sips of soft drink and water.
‘Wait, how did you manage to get a detention?’ Beverly exclaimed, staring at Eddie in shock.
‘Yeah, you are usually very pre-cautious.’ Mike added, taking a sip of his Cola.
‘Richie.’ Eddie deadpanned in response, glaring at the boy next to him.
‘Pfft! Yeah, okay, sure! Whatever you say, Mr. Kaspbrak!’ Richie said slipping into his (terrible) British accent.
‘It w-was Richie’s f-f-fault.’ Bill added.
‘Oh god, what’d you do?’ Ben asked, enthusiastically.
‘You do NOT want to know but it involves the school’s marching band and Eddie getting caught in the middle of the chaos.’ Stan informed them. Mike could only imagine what Richie had done and joined in laughing with the others. As Mike took another sip of his drink, Mike saw Richie get a mischievous glint in his eye.
‘Oh man, let’s have a tree climbing competition!’ Richie exclaimed in excitement.
‘Do you know how many injuries you can get from that? Or infections! My Mum told me that splinters can cause septicaemia or blood poisoning! No way, Uh uh. Besides, it’s too difficult to climb.’ Eddie rambled, his arms crossed over his light red shirt.
‘Well, your Mum didn't complain about how ha-’
‘Shut UP, Richie!’ Eddie and Stan exclaimed simultaneously. Richie huffed and rolled his eyes, pushing his large glasses up his nose.
After a tree climbing competition (Eddie refused to compete despite Richie’s persistence) Bev was declared the winner, Stan a close second (he got thoroughly distracted by the birds). The group decided to go for a swim in the quarry, everyone stripped down to their swim wear. Stan, Bill, Bev and Ben were already out in the water, splashing each other and screaming in delight. Mike was about to head out and join them when he heard a THUMP and a moan behind him. Turning around, he saw Eddie had fallen over something and was clinging onto his arm in pain. Mike was about to run over and help but Richie had beaten him to it. Richie helped Eddie up and was assessing the situation.
‘Eds, don’t freak out but I think you’re arm is broken…’ Richie murmured, his thumb gently wiping the tears off of Eddie’s cheek.
‘Don’t freak out! My Mum is gonna kill me and I’ll have to st-’
‘Eds. It’ll be fine, okay? We’ll take you up to the hospital and you’ll get fixed right up. You’ll be okay. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you, Eddie Spaghetti.’ Mike had never seen Richie act so sincere before, it was kind of concerning. Eddie pulled out his aspirator then and puffed in some air.
‘Don’t call me that.’ Eddie retorted weakly, letting Richie guide him up the path.
‘Eds has hurt his arm but he’ll be a-okay!’ Richie yelled down to the group.
‘I’ll join you guys!’ Mike called back, pulling his clothes back on and joining them on the path. When Mike joined them, Richie still had his arm around Eddie, who was looking up at him with an unreadable expression. Mike rolled his eyes as they began to walk away from the quarry, those two were idiots.
2. Bill Denborough
Bill had invited the losers over for a sleepover that night but only Richie, Eddie and Stan could make it. Stan and Richie had turned up first and Eddie had turned up an hour later (his Mum had taken him to the hospital to ensure his arm was fully healed now). Currently, they were sitting in Bill’s living room watching tapes of Saturday Night Live. Bill laughed quietly at Richie who was taking handfuls of Cheetos and shoving them into his mouth.
‘R-Richie, could you eat any sl-sluh-slower?’ Bill made a face at his best friend who gave him a shit-eating grin, and shrugged his shoulders.
‘How are we friends with him?’ Stan deadpanned, sighing at Richie’s antics.
‘Cause I’m a fucking blast! Isn’t that right, Eds?’ Richie pinched Eddie’s cheek with his clean hand and Eddie rolled his eyes.
‘Stop calling me that!’
‘I know you love it! I know you love me too!’ Richie removed his hand and winked at Eddie before going back to eating his Cheetos.
‘A fucking blast? More like a pain in the fucking ass.’ Stan sighed softly and Bill laughed at his comment.
‘Stanley, if you want me to be a pain in your as-’
‘Beep Beep, Richie!!’ Eddie exclaimed, his cheeks turning an interesting shade of red.
‘I’m a comedic genius! GENIUS! Does no one see that?’ Richie asked, pushing his glasses up.
‘No.’ The rest of them answered simultaneously.
‘No sense of humour.’ Richie murmured before going back to his chips. Bill shook his head fondly at his best friend, he really was a Trashmouth sometimes.
Later that night, Bill had woken up with a gasp. He had had a nightmare about Georgie. He didn't remember much, only that there was a clown with a creepy smile and he had killed Georgie. Bill shuddered, wiping the sweat from his forehead and neck. He subtly slid out of the small bed, careful not to wake the others. Stan was sleeping with him on the bed whilst Richie and Eddie shared a mattress on the floor. He tiptoed carefully out of his room and down to the kitchen and grabbed himself a drink of water. Before, he went back to his room he stopped at Georgie's room first. He gently opened the door and walked into the small space. He gently pushed Georgie’s hair back and gave him a kiss on the forehead. Georgie stirred slightly but settled back down and smiled softly in his sleep. Bill felt comforted by the fact that his nightmare had been just that, a nightmare. Feeling relieved and comforted, Bill made his way back up to his room. He was glad that hadn't woken up any of his friends in the process. As he slid into his bed, next to Stan, he did a double take at Richie and Eddie’s sleeping figures on the floor. Eddie had his head resting on Richie’s chest, Richie had his arm wrapped around Eddie and Eddie had his arm flung over Richie’s exposed stomach. They both looked peaceful. Bill wasn't shocked exactly, but he was still surprised. He had known Richie and Eddie since they were in nappies and that’s probably why it didn't come as too much of a surprise. Considering, their relationship had always been slightly different to everyone else's. He smiled gently down at them and curled back under his covers. He wondered, how long it would take for them to get together?
(The answer Bill would find, was only a couple weeks)
3. Ben Hanscom
Ben walked through the library door, the smell of books hit him immediately and he smiled. The smell of books, old or new, always made him feel better. Books had always been his escape from the real world. He had finished reading his books and was coming to borrow out some new ones for the next week. As he rounded the corner, he saw the Librarian ‘shh’ing a pair of boys in the corner of the kids section. Ben gave her a small wave as he passed her and into the section of books.
‘Ha! I told you I was right, Eds! The answer was 47!’ Ben heard an all too familiar voice exclaim. Looking through the gaps in the bookshelf he saw Richie and Eddie sitting in the corner of the kids section (no wonder the librarian had to quieten them down).
‘It’s Eddie, not Eds. And I never said you were wrong, I’m terrible at Maths!’ Eddie exclaimed. ‘Rich, I am never going to pass this exam.’ He groaned, face planting onto the table in front of him. Ben watched as Richie ruffled his hair (Ben knew for a fact, that Eddie always told Richie to stop doing that).
‘Eds. Eddie Spaghetti. That is no way to think. I beleev’ in ya, ma boy. All it takes is a lil’ bit o’ brain and a lil’ bit o’ faith!’ Richie exclaimed loudly, the librarian shushed him again and Ben was still trying to figure out where the accent was from.
‘Richie…’ Eddie groaned, sitting up at the desk then. ‘I’m serious. I don’t know how to do it, it stumps me every fucking time. Fuck.’ Eddie took a puff of his aspirator then and Ben felt concern for his friend. He was going to go over and join them then when Richie pulled Eddie into his arms.
‘Well, I believe in you Eds.’ Ben felt as if he shouldn't be witnessing this moment but he couldn't stop watching them.
‘Now this Maths homework won’t do itself! Let’s go over it again.’ Richie said, when Eddie had pulled away. Ben couldn't hear their voices anymore, they were talking in a whisper and Ben watched as Eddie concentrated on Richie and how Richie was ensuring that Eddie understood. Ben felt his heart squeeze, it was a cute moment and he couldn't believe he had never seen them like this before. Not wanting to intrude on them anymore, Ben grabbed the two closest books to him (Desolation Angels and The Best of Everything) before borrowing the books and exiting the library. When he caught up with Bev this afternoon, he was definitely going to tell her about what he saw.
4. Beverly Marsh
Beverly Marsh had had a particularly draining day and the only thing she wanted to do was go down to the quarry, have a cigarette and talk to her friends about anything and everything. She hopped of her bike as she saw the familiar dirt path in front of her. Walking over to the path she stopped when she only saw two people there (unusual considering everyone always hung out here). She noticed the figures immediately as Richie and Eddie. They were sitting close together, talking to each other, laughing and throwing rocks into the water. Bev remembered what Ben had told her the other day and she found herself smirking at the sight. When Ben had told her about Richie and Eddie in the library she nearly passed out. Sure, she knew they always flirted with each other and always gave each other “heart-eyes” (she wasn’t stupid) but hearing about how much serious Richie had been with Eddie had her shocked. She had always seen him mucking around with Eddie and the gang, there was barely a serious moment in Richie’s life. She had thought about it though and it made sense, Richie would open his more serious side up to Eddie. She had always had a hope that they would get together, they would be good for each other.
Looking at them now, Eddie had rested his head down onto Richie’s shoulder and Richie wrapped his arm around Eddie’s shoulders. She couldn’t tell if they were speaking anymore or if they were just sitting there together but Beverly didn't want to intrude. She smiled down at them before hopping back on her bike and riding over to Bill Denborough’s house.
At Bill’s, she had asked if she could invite over Stan, Ben and Mike. Bill had asked about Richie and Eddie but Bev had shaken her head and told him that she would explain later. Bill had nodded and given them a ring, they were all over at Bill’s in under 15 minutes.
‘Where’s Eddie and Richie?’ Mike asked, as he sat down at the table next to Bill.
‘At the quarry. I didn’t invite them because this is about them.’ Bev informed, taking a seat next to Ben.
‘What about them? I mean, I know Richie is fucking annoying but I don't know what Eddie’s done.’ Stan commented and Bev smiled at his sarcastic comment.
‘Is this about them or them?’ Ben asked and Beverly gave him a smile.
‘Them.’ She replied, emphasising “them” the way Ben had.
‘Like t-t-together?’ Bill asked and Bev nodded her head and Bill smiled.
‘Just before, I went down to the quarry and Richie and Eddie were there. I was gonna go down and join them but they were really fucking close and then Eddie rested his head on Richie’s shoulder and they kinda just sat there, hugging each other.’ Bev explained. ‘Has anyone else noticed this?’
‘At the library the other day, Richie and Eddie were studying together and they hugged for ages. Richie wasn’t joking around either, he was being serious with Eddie and everything.’ Ben added. Bev watched as Stan raised his eyebrows and Bill smiled.
‘Stan, d-d-do you r-remember the sleep oh-over we had?’ Bill asked.
‘The one with just us four? Yeah.’ Stan replied, curiosity in his voice.
‘I w-woke up at midnight and I saw R-R-Richie an-and E-Eddie curled up t-t-together.’ Bill said and Stan’s jaw dropped.
‘Why haven’t I seen anything? Mike, what about you?’
‘Yeah. I noticed it months ago when Eddie had sprained his wrist. Richie was just so calm and serious with him and then at the hospital Richie refused to let go of Eddie, even when Mrs. Kaspbrak came.’ Mike said patiently and Stan sighed.
‘Man, I need to see this for myself.’
‘It won’t be hard. After you see it, you can’t unsee it.’ Ben added, and Bill nodded in agreement.
‘Well, if they don’t get together within the next month or so, I’m staging an intervention.’ Bev remarked and the others laughed, agreeing with her.
‘Wh-What should we c-call it?’ After a moment of thought, Bev got the perfect name for this project.
‘Project Reddie!’
5. Stanley Uris
After hearing all of his friends talk about the relationship between Eddie and Richie, Stan wanted (needed) to see it for himself. He only had to wait 2 days until he had finally seen what Bev had called ‘Reddie’. Stan had found himself walking towards the ice cream store. He was going to get ice cream for him and Bill, when he saw Richie and Eddie in the queue.
‘Hey guys.’ Stan greeted them when he joined them in the line.
‘Stan! Stan the Man! Stanley Uris! Stanley the Manley Uris!’ Richie exclaimed.
‘Hey Stan.’ Eddie responded. ‘How are you?’
‘Good. Just getting some ice cream for Bill and I. You guys wanna come down and join us at the quarry?’ Stan asked.
‘We were going to come down after we got ice cream.’ Eddie informed him and they all moved forward in the line.
‘What would you like today?’ The boy at the counter asked, he looked bored.
‘2 vanil-’
‘4 vanilla ice creams, please.’ Stan cut Richie off and the man nodded, holding his hand out for money. Richie reluctantly pulled more money out of his pocket and handed it over to the man, who went to grab their ice cream.
‘What the fuck was that for?’ Richie asked and Stan smirked at him.
‘You were annoying me.’ Stan shrugged and Richie stared at him with an open mouth.
‘Here, Rich.’ Eddie murmured, placing some coins in Richie’s hand.
‘Eds, no it’s okay. I really don’t mind. It was Mum’s money anyway, I stole it from her purse.’ Richie told them, handing the money back to Eddie.
‘I’ve told you-’
‘“Don’t call me that!” Geez, He’s like a broken record, huh Stan?’ Richie joked, nudging Stan in the ribs. Stan rolled his eyes and the man came back with four ice creams in hand. He handed one to Richie, one to Eddie and Stan grabbed the other two. He was thankful the quarry was only around the corner otherwise the ice cream would easily melted before they would get to the quarry. As they walked down the street, Stan heard Richie murmur an ‘oh fuck’ under his breath and when he looked up he saw Henry Bowers and his gang approaching them. Stan felt his stomach sink and a lump formed in his throat as the Bower’s gang approached them.
‘Looky here boys, Bucky Beaver has taken an outing with his loser friends.’ Victor exclaimed with a laugh. Stan glared at them, but didn't say anything. Looking at Eddie and Richie, he noticed that they were quiet too.
‘Don’t call me that.’ Richie said defiantly. Stan felt a surge of panic after Richie commented, he hoped it wouldn't make it worse.
‘Well which would you prefer? Bucky Beaver, Four-Eyes or queer? I personally prefer Bucky the four-eyed queer.’ Henry laughed, pushing Richie backwards. Stan felt himself get angry then but he held himself back trying to think of a way to get them out of this mess. Suddenly, Eddie threw his ice cream at Bowers’ face.
‘Pick on someone your own size you fucking fuck!’ Eddie screamed, swinging his leg up and kicking Bowers in the dick. Stan stood there in shock, so did the rest of Henry’s gang. Henry was on the floor, ice cream on his face and wheezing as he clutched his dick. Henry’s gang stood over Henry then, asking if he was okay. Using the distraction, Stan grabbed Richie and Eddie by the arms and pushed them forward. The three of them running down to the quarry before they could catch up. Stan had never seen Eddie react like that before and he agreed with his friends. Richie and Eddie were definitely harbouring feelings for each other and he knew they would make a good fucking pair.
‘Eds, are you okay?’ Richie asked as soon as they were a couple streets away.
‘I should be the one asking you that, Rich.’ Eddie murmured, looking at Richie in worry. ‘I know how much those words hurt you.’ He added, whispering as if only Richie was to here it. Stan watched as Richie pulled Eddie in for a hug.
‘I’m, ah, okay too… just in case, anyone was wondering.’ Stan said awkwardly as Richie and Eddie pulled apart.
‘Aw Stanley, come ‘ere and give us a hug!’ Richie teased and Stan rolled his eyes and pushed past the other two boys.
‘Come on, let’s get to Bill.’ Stan added and began walking as soon as Richie and Eddie were next to him. Stan knew for sure he wasn't meant to hear it but Richie had leaned down and whispered a soft, ‘thank you’ into Eddie’s ear and Stan smirked to himself. It was going to be fun telling the others about this one.
6. Eddie Kasbrak and Richie Tozier
They were sitting on the cliff near the quarry, their legs hanging of the steep edge. Eddie was sitting next to him, his inhaler in hand (in case he got any asthma attacks from the height).
‘The other day after the ice cream store… I really did mean it. Thank you, Eddie.’ Richie said sincerely, throwing a rock off the edge. The words that Bower’s gang said to him were drilled into his brain, if they pushed him hard enough he would break.
‘Well I couldn't just stand there and let them have at you.’ Eddie replied.
‘You, uh, know how they call me queer sometimes?’ Richie murmured. He had suddenly grown nervous, he had been confident up till now. He had hoped that by telling Eddie nothing would change in their friendship (he would always wish for more but that was impossible. Eddie would never like him).
‘Yeah…’
‘Well, um, their not exactly wrong…’ Richie adds quietly. Richie fiddled with the hem of his shirt as the silence consumes their conversation. He looks up at Eddie nervously, when he sees that Eddie is looking over at him with a small smile. Richie felt his heart start beating again, and he felt at ease knowing that his best friend was okay with it. Richie smiled back at him.
‘Me too.’ Eddie added softly, Richie’s jaw fell open.
‘What?’
‘Me too.’ Eddie said with more confidence and Richie felt himself smiling at his best friend. Eddie was looking at him with a wide grin, the boys’ galactic brown eyes were smiling and without thinking, Richie leaned forward and pressed his lips to Eddies. When Eddie didn't do anything, Richie pulled back, scared he had misread the situation.
‘Oh… I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to do that. I just thought that you know maybe, you liked me. Cuz’ you know I really like you and I thought we were having a momen-’ Richie was cut off by Eddie, who was kissing him. Richie smiled and brought his hands up, kissing him back. Eddie had soft lips and he tasted like strawberry. It was a small kiss but a perfect one, nevertheless. Eddie had pulled away first, taking a pump of air from his inhaler.
‘Did I just take your brea-‘
‘Don’t ruin the moment, Rich.’ Eddie replied, giving him a teasing smile. Richie smiled back and leaned forward to give Eddie another kiss, because he could do that now.
‘Should we tell the others?’ Eddie asked suddenly, looking up at Richie seriously.
‘Tell them what?’
‘That we are.. you know…’
‘Dating?’
‘Yeah…’ Richie felt himself smile wildly at that. Richie dating Eddie Kaspbrak. It had literally been his dream for years.
‘I think we should but it’s your choice, Eddie Spaghetti.’
‘… I think we should. And hey, don’t call me that!’ Eddie protested weakly as Richie leaned forward again to kiss him.
‘Guys, I wanted to say something.’ Eddie blurted out that afternoon when they were all at the quarry. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and looked up at Eddie with curious expressions. Richie moved his hand slightly so he could touch Eddie’s hand, offering him support.
‘Well. Rich… Richie and…’ Eddie’s breathing had lilted slightly and Richie pulled out a spare inhaler quickly, giving Eddie a pump of air. Eddie looked at him appreciatively and Richie smiled at him, nodding his head slightly. Eddie took a deep breath.
‘Richie and I are together.’ He blurted out. Richie took in the expressions of his friends faces. Richie watched as the others exchanged small glances and Richie felt his heart sink as no one said anything. After a moment, Mike turned to them with a grin.
‘Fucking finally.’