[Richie had heard about great stops all the way along that drive, all the way west, and even more northern past the Candian border. They could make their summer one to remember.]
Eddie, I love you. 700 miles, 1200 miles. That won't change. You'll always be the one.
Go see the mountains and the ocean. Go stand at the top of the Empire State Building.
( there's so much they could see and many more things they could do. they could make a multitude of memories together to help ease the distance that would soon break them apart. )
I love you too, Richie. I'll always love you. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life.
Sure, drop a penny off see that it does absolutely nothing move onto the next death-defying science experiment.
[Richie leans in to kiss at the outer limits of Eddie's jaw, from his chin to his neck and past his shoulder. One good thing about sharing a bed was how much he got to touch, how much he got to do. Especially at his place, where his parents left him alone. Didn't care so long as they weren't loud or destructive.]
Till we're gray and old and our balls are between our knees. You're the one, babe. I don't think I'll ever look at anybody the way I look at you.
You mean it? Not the penny thing but staying together until we're all old and shit?
( he can't help chuckling softly as richie leans in to kiss along his skin. his own hands dip low and snake under richie's shirt, seeking out to touch warm skin with a delighted hum that can only come from someone being utterly content. he breathes out a long sigh before tilting his gaze back to rich and giving him a fond, utterly lovesick smile. )
I mean it. What- you think I wax poetic with all my other boyfriends around here? Eddie- c'mon.
[Richie might seem unfaithful to the untrained eye but he was utterly devoted to Eddie, infatuated and in love. There's nothing he wouldn't do, up to and including:]
So, let's get married. Canada. Let's go, tie the knot before college and once you've got enough credits to transfer over we can get a place off-campus.
You c'mon! That's a fucking long time, you know. I just want to be sure, okay.
( there was plenty of rumors to deal with in their time together but the idea of richie being unfaithful was perhaps almost hysterical for eddie. he can't see himself living life without richie there and rich has made it clear that it's the same for him too. there wasn't anything rich wouldn't do for him.
up to and including, apparently― )
Huh? ( he doesn't mean to look as confused as he does but, admittedly, he didn't think richie would so readily agree to it. sitting up fully, he looks down at his boyfriend (oh god, fiancee?) with wide eyes. ) Just that easy? I don't even have a ring.
lmao @ me and my genius of the class rings so when they forget they just figure it's theirs or w/e
[God, after what they'd been through and how much work it had taken to get where they were now he knew he'd never be as sure about anything else in his entire life. Eddie's shock just makes him more smitten and he beams up at him with a wide toothy grin that takes up most of his face.]
We're sure. It's the one thing I know I want right now.
( he says with another goofy smile that lights up his features, a faint blush coloring his cheeks just enough that the dusting of freckles across his nose are visible even in the low light. leaning in, eddie smothers a kiss to the corner of his mouth before trailing down to his chin and throat. )
[It's been a year or two since they started their relationship and Richie still loses his mind every time Eddie kisses him or sits across his lap. Some part of him still the thirteen-year-old with a stupid crush and always would be, he laughs but makes no effort to push him away, his hands find refuge in Eddie's hips. The same way they always had.]
You made it to the top of the class somehow. ( eddie says with a smile that lights up his features. he continues nosing at richie's neck as he shifts closer still as hands find their way to his hips. god, he just loves the feel of richie's hands on him. ) Hearing them call your name, you standing up there with all the other big brains. I was so proud of you, and I couldn't help but think was: he's mine, mine, mine.
( and now they might make that permanent. something lasting. proof there was at least one good thing that came out of this shitty town. )
Marrying you would probably be the smartest thing I could do.
[The sense of ownership though, it makes him swell with pride. Richie wanted to belong to Eddie, maybe it was stupid but after everything, they'd been through shouldn't they have that. Didn't they at least deserve that?]
( he says with a chuckle. dipping his head down eddie presses his lips to richie's pulse point and bites down against the skin there, intent on leaving a mark. )
[The bite gets a strangled sort of sigh out of him, Richie loved it when Eddie was rough with him and loved necking and kissing him. There wasn't ever a moment when he wasn't down for it, and he couldn't get enough.]
( needless to say the strangled sigh that eddie earns from his bite just eggs him on. he eagerly licks at the bruised skin, hands roaming along richie's sides and over warm skin as he hums contently. )
One of those burnt wood ones? How New England of you. ( he's near straddling richie at this point so focused on leaving more purposeful little marks. ) We should get a dog too.
What kind of dog? A pug? A basset hound? I like those ugly dogs.
[Richie laughs, his tongue between his teeth and he really is loving this. Sure, they're eloping and none of their friends will be there not even if he texted Stan or Mike and begged but they're busy everybody's planning for the trip and they'd find someone once they passed the border.]
A basset hound is so perfectly you too. You'd be a perfect fit for one another.
( there's a part of him that does regret that they would be doing this without their friends. without any of them knowing until it was all over but they could always have a nice get together later, right? at the confession, eddie sits up just enough so that he can lean forward and press a kiss to his lips. soft, chaste but absolutely brimming with love. )
Just thinking about it... I can't imagine anything better than being married to you.
We're a perfect fit for each other. A dog'll just be our number three.
[Richie kisses Eddie back, slow and purposeful, his fingertips sloping from just behind Eddie's ear all the way down past his neck. The love he was brimming with was mirrored in Richie and he did his best to show that.]
You're such a sap. ( he murmurs into the kiss, sticking his tongue out playfully but quickly surrendering over to the kiss. it's easy for eddie to lose himself in the intimacy and he knows he'd never be happier than he was when he was in richie's arms. ) But you're my sap.
( he curls up close to richie's side, letting a hand come to slip his fingers through richie's hair and sigh. )
A semester won't be so bad. We'll be back together before your birthday.
Exactly, and I'll call you every day. You won't even miss me.
[Richie slows into the movement of Eddie's fingers, yes he was nervous and didn't want to be without him but the last thing he wanted was for Eddie to feel the same way. Richie wanted Eddie to be excited and secure in the next chapter of their life.]
No. I'll miss you, I don't think it'll be possible for me not to miss you.
( even with richie calling every day, eddie knew there would still be an unmistakable loneliness that would come from him just not being there. it's something he's been preparing for but still not quite coming to terms with fully. it's just hard to imagine not having richie right there at his side. )
But it'll be okay.
if you wanna time skip you're welcome to! up to you.
[Richie leans in and kisses the corner of Eddie's mouth and then his cheek. Too old to be having sleepovers in the same bed, too in love to care. He slips into a more comfortable position and wraps his body around him tightly. The way he'd always done when they were young and would, continue to do forever.]
( it's the one thing eddie could be 100% sure in the craziness that had been their lives. it makes it easy for him to curl in closer to richie's body and wrap his arms around his middle, burying his face against the other boy's chest with a tired sigh. although his thoughts lingered on their upcoming separation there is comfort and calm to be found in simply being at his side, easing him into a gentle rest.
the morning seems to come quickly, eddie waking early and eagerly moving to get richie up as well. this time yesterday, he had mostly been excited with the idea of graduation and being done with high school finally but now all he can think about is jumping in rich's car and driving for the border. it doesn't take long, thankfully, to get things together. they've both saved up a good bit of cash and it's not like they have a lot to bring with them beyond their clothes.
once he's left his mom a note explaining that, no-- he hasn't been kidnapped. they are finally able to set off. it isn't until they leave the derry limits that eddie finally feels at ease and once they reach canada? he's quite possibly, literally, shaking. that isn't to say anything of once they decide on a place with someone that'll marry them. it's a quiet, a bit awkward, ceremony but eddie can't helping tearing up. he doesn't full on find himself crying but damn, god damn, if he doesn't come close as he reads the vows he wrote on the back of a diner napkin.
it's only later when they're hand in hand, rings exchanged and awkwardly fitted on different fingers that he does break down with happy sniffling, openly crying.
the rest of the summer seems to swim by a leisurely pace. they go wherever the roads take them from the big cities to the smaller towns on the coastlines. it's simple, perfect and eddie swears that he probably holds richie's (his husband's) hand the entire time even when they're sleeping. it's so perfect that he doesn't want it to end and as they're driving back to derry, he breaks down again but this time it's in that heartbreaking sadness.
much like the summer, the fall and winter seems to take its time. richie keeps to his word and calls everyday, sometimes more than once and eddie is always there to answer. after their summer shenanigans his mother hold is tighter than ever but he still keeps pushing things. he visits richie more often than not during the holidays, traveling by bus from derry and even surprises him for christmas by having pooled together enough money to get their rings refitted. the r+e carved into the bands is an extra touch but richie seems to love the gesture and that is more than enough for eddie.
but finally the day comes when he leaves derry by bus without a return ticket, a bag all that he has to his name. his grades had never been as great as rich's own but he had managed somehow to be accepted to the same school and now they even had their own place. so, yeah, eddie swears his heart is probably beating like a drum the entire bus ride. usually, he was excited but now he feels some fear? but that was normal when starting a new chapter of your life, right? he tries not to think too hard about it and instead focus on the good that'll come from this.
he's the first off the bus once it arrives at the station, immediately scanning the crowd until a familiar bean pole of a husband catches his attention and eddie near tackles him off his feet as arms come to wrap around rich with a squeeze. )
Edited (i decided to make the time skip a little further along) 2020-02-16 16:09 (UTC)
[Time trickles by in not a lull but like a snap, Richie's entire world revolved around Eddie. College didn't come easy, especially not after the impromptu marriage ceremony. What followed after their vows, was bliss. Whenever he missed Eddie and couldn't call him, he'd think about that. It didn't fix everything but it calmed him down enough to focus on his schoolwork.
The initials carved into the band of their class rings gave the bands a new kind of weight. Sometimes, he'd rotate it around his finger during a lecture to see if he could get a glimpse. A game of peekaboo he played with himself and their inscription, a way to pass the time while taking notes.
Even the bus stations in Bangor were more populated than Derry had ever been. It takes a minute to find him in the crowd, and Richie is thankful that Eddie had been barreling right for him. That makes it easier to spot him and gives him time to brace for the impact.]
Jesus babe! Looks like you made good time. I can't believe you shuttled down here. How was the ride?
[The Eddie from childhood would've been laborious about his complaints on bus-travel. Richie's expecting a long-winded dissertation about other passengers and the vehicle itself. If he's lucky, he might even get a play by play about the driver and the journey too.]
( they collide and suddenly everything just feels right again. although the calls and brief weekend or holiday trips had helped ease the loneliness there was just something special in knowing that this trip would be his last. that he wouldn't have to go back to derry or go back to his mother.
the question gets a look from eddie as he glances up (has rich gotten taller?) and sticks out his tongue. he would have driven down here, if he could but his mother would blow a gasket if he was ever caught behind the wheel of a car. let alone driving alllll the way to bangor by himself.
but, most importantly: )
I need a shower. ( he hisses at the question, his face crinkling and fighting the urge to reach for his inhaler. ) Do you have any idea what it's like sitting across from a guy chewing tobacco and reading Playboy the entire time? It's not great. Someone asked me to hold their crying baby while they got a clean diaper out and the driver, I know, was driving at least twenty over the entire time.
[One thing Richie never seemed to stop doing was growing, he was still a thin waifish beanpole but he carried it a lot better now. His diet wasn't great, college eats to blame for that, but it helped him hide the weight to height disparity better.]
Look at you, learning about the female form and changing diapers. I feel like you just had a whole life saga on the ride over here.
[Richie wasn't about to complain about the driver speeding, it meant Eddie got to be here sooner, after all. Richie does what any good husband does and grabs his bags on their way into the dorms. His room is an elevator ride away, and thankfully they were on the same floor.]
It'll be a while before I can apply for a room change, so I figured maybe you could ask for a solo room and with any luck, I could set up shop there too. In the meantime, you're gonna love this - co-ed bathrooms.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
respirations) wrote2020-02-13 09:47 pm
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[Richie had heard about great stops all the way along that drive, all the way west, and even more northern past the Candian border. They could make their summer one to remember.]
Eddie, I love you. 700 miles, 1200 miles. That won't change. You'll always be the one.
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( there's so much they could see and many more things they could do. they could make a multitude of memories together to help ease the distance that would soon break them apart. )
I love you too, Richie. I'll always love you. I wanna be with you for the rest of my life.
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[Richie leans in to kiss at the outer limits of Eddie's jaw, from his chin to his neck and past his shoulder. One good thing about sharing a bed was how much he got to touch, how much he got to do. Especially at his place, where his parents left him alone. Didn't care so long as they weren't loud or destructive.]
Till we're gray and old and our balls are between our knees. You're the one, babe. I don't think I'll ever look at anybody the way I look at you.
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( he can't help chuckling softly as richie leans in to kiss along his skin. his own hands dip low and snake under richie's shirt, seeking out to touch warm skin with a delighted hum that can only come from someone being utterly content. he breathes out a long sigh before tilting his gaze back to rich and giving him a fond, utterly lovesick smile. )
I wanna marry you, Richie Tozier.
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[Richie might seem unfaithful to the untrained eye but he was utterly devoted to Eddie, infatuated and in love. There's nothing he wouldn't do, up to and including:]
So, let's get married. Canada. Let's go, tie the knot before college and once you've got enough credits to transfer over we can get a place off-campus.
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( there was plenty of rumors to deal with in their time together but the idea of richie being unfaithful was perhaps almost hysterical for eddie. he can't see himself living life without richie there and rich has made it clear that it's the same for him too. there wasn't anything rich wouldn't do for him.
up to and including, apparently― )
Huh? ( he doesn't mean to look as confused as he does but, admittedly, he didn't think richie would so readily agree to it. sitting up fully, he looks down at his boyfriend (oh god, fiancee?) with wide eyes. ) Just that easy? I don't even have a ring.
lmao @ me and my genius of the class rings so when they forget they just figure it's theirs or w/e
[God, after what they'd been through and how much work it had taken to get where they were now he knew he'd never be as sure about anything else in his entire life. Eddie's shock just makes him more smitten and he beams up at him with a wide toothy grin that takes up most of his face.]
We'll just use our class rings.
beautiful /chef's kiss
( he says with another goofy smile that lights up his features, a faint blush coloring his cheeks just enough that the dusting of freckles across his nose are visible even in the low light. leaning in, eddie smothers a kiss to the corner of his mouth before trailing down to his chin and throat. )
How very smart of you and practical too.
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That's me. Smart. Practical.
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( and now they might make that permanent. something lasting. proof there was at least one good thing that came out of this shitty town. )
Marrying you would probably be the smartest thing I could do.
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[The sense of ownership though, it makes him swell with pride. Richie wanted to belong to Eddie, maybe it was stupid but after everything, they'd been through shouldn't they have that. Didn't they at least deserve that?]
Mr. Eddie Tozier or Mr. Richie Kaspbrak?
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( he says with a chuckle. dipping his head down eddie presses his lips to richie's pulse point and bites down against the skin there, intent on leaving a mark. )
Hmm. I do like your last name more than mine.
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The Toziers. We'll get a sign for our place.
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One of those burnt wood ones? How New England of you. ( he's near straddling richie at this point so focused on leaving more purposeful little marks. ) We should get a dog too.
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[Richie laughs, his tongue between his teeth and he really is loving this. Sure, they're eloping and none of their friends will be there not even if he texted Stan or Mike and begged but they're busy everybody's planning for the trip and they'd find someone once they passed the border.]
God, I'm gonna love being married to you.
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( there's a part of him that does regret that they would be doing this without their friends. without any of them knowing until it was all over but they could always have a nice get together later, right? at the confession, eddie sits up just enough so that he can lean forward and press a kiss to his lips. soft, chaste but absolutely brimming with love. )
Just thinking about it... I can't imagine anything better than being married to you.
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[Richie kisses Eddie back, slow and purposeful, his fingertips sloping from just behind Eddie's ear all the way down past his neck. The love he was brimming with was mirrored in Richie and he did his best to show that.]
Me either.
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( he curls up close to richie's side, letting a hand come to slip his fingers through richie's hair and sigh. )
A semester won't be so bad. We'll be back together before your birthday.
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[Richie slows into the movement of Eddie's fingers, yes he was nervous and didn't want to be without him but the last thing he wanted was for Eddie to feel the same way. Richie wanted Eddie to be excited and secure in the next chapter of their life.]
The time'll pass before you even know it.
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( even with richie calling every day, eddie knew there would still be an unmistakable loneliness that would come from him just not being there. it's something he's been preparing for but still not quite coming to terms with fully. it's just hard to imagine not having richie right there at his side. )
But it'll be okay.
if you wanna time skip you're welcome to! up to you.
[Richie leans in and kisses the corner of Eddie's mouth and then his cheek. Too old to be having sleepovers in the same bed, too in love to care. He slips into a more comfortable position and wraps his body around him tightly. The way he'd always done when they were young and would, continue to do forever.]
I promise. Everything'll be fine, Mr. Tozier.
👌
( it's the one thing eddie could be 100% sure in the craziness that had been their lives. it makes it easy for him to curl in closer to richie's body and wrap his arms around his middle, burying his face against the other boy's chest with a tired sigh. although his thoughts lingered on their upcoming separation there is comfort and calm to be found in simply being at his side, easing him into a gentle rest.
the morning seems to come quickly, eddie waking early and eagerly moving to get richie up as well. this time yesterday, he had mostly been excited with the idea of graduation and being done with high school finally but now all he can think about is jumping in rich's car and driving for the border. it doesn't take long, thankfully, to get things together. they've both saved up a good bit of cash and it's not like they have a lot to bring with them beyond their clothes.
once he's left his mom a note explaining that, no-- he hasn't been kidnapped. they are finally able to set off. it isn't until they leave the derry limits that eddie finally feels at ease and once they reach canada? he's quite possibly, literally, shaking. that isn't to say anything of once they decide on a place with someone that'll marry them. it's a quiet, a bit awkward, ceremony but eddie can't helping tearing up. he doesn't full on find himself crying but damn, god damn, if he doesn't come close as he reads the vows he wrote on the back of a diner napkin.
it's only later when they're hand in hand, rings exchanged and awkwardly fitted on different fingers that he does break down with happy sniffling, openly crying.
the rest of the summer seems to swim by a leisurely pace. they go wherever the roads take them from the big cities to the smaller towns on the coastlines. it's simple, perfect and eddie swears that he probably holds richie's (his husband's) hand the entire time even when they're sleeping. it's so perfect that he doesn't want it to end and as they're driving back to derry, he breaks down again but this time it's in that heartbreaking sadness.
much like the summer, the fall and winter seems to take its time. richie keeps to his word and calls everyday, sometimes more than once and eddie is always there to answer. after their summer shenanigans his mother hold is tighter than ever but he still keeps pushing things. he visits richie more often than not during the holidays, traveling by bus from derry and even surprises him for christmas by having pooled together enough money to get their rings refitted. the r+e carved into the bands is an extra touch but richie seems to love the gesture and that is more than enough for eddie.
but finally the day comes when he leaves derry by bus without a return ticket, a bag all that he has to his name. his grades had never been as great as rich's own but he had managed somehow to be accepted to the same school and now they even had their own place. so, yeah, eddie swears his heart is probably beating like a drum the entire bus ride. usually, he was excited but now he feels some fear? but that was normal when starting a new chapter of your life, right? he tries not to think too hard about it and instead focus on the good that'll come from this.
he's the first off the bus once it arrives at the station, immediately scanning the crowd until a familiar bean pole of a husband catches his attention and eddie near tackles him off his feet as arms come to wrap around rich with a squeeze. )
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The initials carved into the band of their class rings gave the bands a new kind of weight. Sometimes, he'd rotate it around his finger during a lecture to see if he could get a glimpse. A game of peekaboo he played with himself and their inscription, a way to pass the time while taking notes.
Even the bus stations in Bangor were more populated than Derry had ever been. It takes a minute to find him in the crowd, and Richie is thankful that Eddie had been barreling right for him. That makes it easier to spot him and gives him time to brace for the impact.]
Jesus babe! Looks like you made good time. I can't believe you shuttled down here. How was the ride?
[The Eddie from childhood would've been laborious about his complaints on bus-travel. Richie's expecting a long-winded dissertation about other passengers and the vehicle itself. If he's lucky, he might even get a play by play about the driver and the journey too.]
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the question gets a look from eddie as he glances up (has rich gotten taller?) and sticks out his tongue. he would have driven down here, if he could but his mother would blow a gasket if he was ever caught behind the wheel of a car. let alone driving alllll the way to bangor by himself.
but, most importantly: )
I need a shower. ( he hisses at the question, his face crinkling and fighting the urge to reach for his inhaler. ) Do you have any idea what it's like sitting across from a guy chewing tobacco and reading Playboy the entire time? It's not great. Someone asked me to hold their crying baby while they got a clean diaper out and the driver, I know, was driving at least twenty over the entire time.
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Look at you, learning about the female form and changing diapers. I feel like you just had a whole life saga on the ride over here.
[Richie wasn't about to complain about the driver speeding, it meant Eddie got to be here sooner, after all. Richie does what any good husband does and grabs his bags on their way into the dorms. His room is an elevator ride away, and thankfully they were on the same floor.]
It'll be a while before I can apply for a room change, so I figured maybe you could ask for a solo room and with any luck, I could set up shop there too. In the meantime, you're gonna love this - co-ed bathrooms.
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in which i tl;dr another flash forward
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