― open post.

[respirations]

EDDIE KASPBRAK it: chapter 2 voice strength: ★★★★★ shipping: i'm reddie trash but i'm also all about that platonic love with the other losers preferences: gen, smut, shippy, angst, au, cross-canon, slice of life. notes: for some fun starting points: some random assortment of memes and aus for days; feel free to go the other worldly route; also throw pics or random sentences at me and a kink generator because why not. hit me up for starters if you'd like. there's no crying in baseball but there is crying in my rp but let's have fun, ok. picture prompts • quote prompts • music prompts • etc

Comments

[sloppybitch]

I think most of us forgot. Mike was the only one who kept sense of things, but he mentioned Stan was quick on the uptake too.

Maybe not remembering is what kept us together in the end. As sick as it sounds.

What do you mean different?

[respirations]

Stan always was quicker to get shit than the rest of us.
But, yeah, maybe. You might be right to think like that.

But man, I don't know. Lots of random little shit might be different if we had all stayed together. Like maybe Ben and Bev would have gotten their lovey-dovey romance together sooner or all of Bill's books might not have shit endings.

[sloppybitch]

Stan really was the man. He put up with a lot of shit from me and you, personally. Tail end of our trio. Man, I miss him.

Awww. Feeling nostalgic, Eddie Spaghetti? That's CUTE.

[respirations]

Isn't that the fucking truth. We were such little shits, I don't know how he didn't just beat the two of us down but he was the best of us. I really miss him too.

Whatever, man. I can be nostalgic as shit if I want. We had a lot of good times, you know.

[sloppybitch]

What do you mean were?

We did. I'm glad I was able to carry you out of there before the place crumbled.

I guess what I'm trying to say is:

[respirations]

Correction: you're definitely still a little shit.

And I'm glad you decided to carry my half-dead ass out of there. I'll always be grateful for that.

If I say you're like my other half then it's not allowed to go on Facebook, ok.

[sloppybitch]

You had me at hello!!!!

[respirations]

I'll be home in like two minutes, you ridiculous man-child.

So come and get your food before it gets cold.

[sloppybitch]

I'm there.

[True to his word he was too, it was an off day for Richie. No interviews, no PR to do whatsoever so he's in a pair of sweats and an old tee-shirt when he comes bounding down the hall to help Eddie in with the bags.]

[respirations]

❪ he's toeing off his shoes when rich comes bounding in and eddie almost (almost) has to laugh at the sight. he happily passes one of the bags off to rich and loosening his tie with his now free hand before making a bee-line toward the kitchen. ❫

Want me to grab you anything to drink?

[sloppybitch]

Water's fine. I'll set the table.

[As great as vegging out on the couch was, every once in a while they did eat at the small teak wood table Richie had in his place and it was nice because they could sit close without having to worry about the room since it was just the two of them. He takes the back and drops it on the center of the table, and of course, they packed the silverware too.]

So, tell me about your interview and I'll try not to fall asleep. Was it riveting? Did they complement your suit that you took an hour ironing?

[respirations]

❪ he gives a small hum of acknowledgement before grabbing what he needs and heading back out to the table because, honestly, eddie loves the small table richie owned. it's always a nice change of pace from laying out on the couch like the middle-aged bachelors that truly were here.

he sets his own food and both waters down before tugging his coat jacket off and folding it neatly along the back of his chair. ❫

You're so kind, Richard but they said I was a good fit. Which, well, duh. I'm fucking good at what I do, okay. And yeah, they did like my suit that I spent an hour ironing. ❪ he huffs and pops open his takeaway box. ❫ Seemed to like the tie you helped pick out too.

[sloppybitch]

[That pulls an easy grin out of him, and he mirrors Eddie by opening his own takeaway box. Always neat, always orderly, some things about Eddie still stood the test of time right down to them arguing over stupid shit like the toilet seat and what does or does not go in the fridge.

He'll never live down being too tired to put the peanut butter in the right place down ever again.] Speaking of pieces, Richie definitely digs in, cutting into one of his dumplings first because god he loved them.] See? I told you. You always look good with a pop of color. I know I'm not the guy for go-to fashion advice but I know what works for you, at least. [A shrug follows because his eyes had found Eddie so many times before when they were young, especially when Eddie had color-coordinated a shirt with a pair of those cute shorts. Paying attention to him was second nature.]

[respirations]

❪ honestly, it was almost nice getting to argue about stupid shit like this without a care. eddie couldn't do this sort of shit with myra without it turning into a fight or her crying because he was being "mean" or "rude" or whatever word of the day her calendar had loaned to her.

he is at his most basic with rich, unafraid to be himself. ❫

Yeah, Rich, you always do. Remember Senior Prom and that fiasco? I had to sneak out my window because I knew my mom would have never let me actually go or go wearing that stupid tie you picked out.

[sloppybitch]

[The truth of the matter was that Richie and Eddie's relationship had always been effortless. They fell into their old habits as if twenty-seven years hadn't passed without contact. It was easy, simple in a way that nothing else really had been for Richie.

The comment about senior prom actually surprises him, the Hawaiian print tie was his way of staking claim to Eddie in an environment where they fought tooth and nail just to be who they were. He's mid-chew when he mentions it, and Richie leans his chin into his palm long after he's finished eating.]

I'm glad you did. I mean, we didn't dance but later that night was pretty monumental if I can say so myself.

[That night Eddie had come home with him and they'd gone all the way. They'd been fooling around for a really long time, but nothing serious or substantial. That night the game definitely changed. It's a way to acknowledge his own memories while not outwardly putting them on Eddie if he didn't. It wouldn't be fair to just go into the details and assume that he knew.]

[respirations]

A lot more monumental than the morning after.

❪ because shower sex is just... awkward especially for a pair of awkward teens with a noted height difference between them. they did their best and that's what counts, yeah? it's hard not for eddie not to smile though between bites of rice because, yeah, okay.

what could hurt about testing the waters and seeing what each other might remember or not? finally acknowledging this shit that's been lingering between them for over a year? ❫

[sloppybitch]

God, that was fucking awful. We were so fucking bad. Too much too soon.

[You don't just go from losing your virginity to athletic sex like that but they'd both been overachievers. The laugh that Richie let out was a little telling. There was no way, Eddie had been even shorter then.]

[respirations]

It's wasn't awful. ❪ he says with a laugh, unable to help himself. ❫ Okay, yeah, it was awful. I think it's the thought that counts? You made it up to me on my birthday.

❪ which had been the sort of stuff they talk about in love songs, at least, eddie had thought so at the time. they'd spent the whole night letting hands explore, kissing like it was oxygen and finally falling asleep curled up together.

it had been good. a lot of the shit they had together had been good. ❫

[sloppybitch]

Your birthday? I'm surprised you remember all that. I thought I was the only one.

[It had been weird going down to the clubhouse with the vivid knowledge that his first-ever blowjob had been in that damn hammock. Not the best blowjob either, but still better than he'd ever had before. The whole trip had been colored by the way he'd felt, the things he thought he'd been the only one of them to recall.]

[respirations]

Honestly, I wasn't sure if it was the fucking clown playing tricks with my head. I didn't want to bring something up and you not know what the fuck I was talking about or you— ❪ or
to have richie be repulsed by the memories that eddie had found himself near drowning in. ❫

I remember a lot though, at least, I think I do. I feel like I remember everything.

[sloppybitch]

Remember when I left. I told you I'd come back for you.

[The frown on his face that followed deepened until it hit his eyes. Part of why he'd been so damn unwilling to let him stay in Neibolt, even at the expense of himself. Richie has a scar across his shoulder too, from pushing through the crevice only to have it collapse. Thankfully, Mike had been there to pull him through the wedged rock. His own injury hadn't been half as bad as Eddie's though and so he never even stuck around to get the stitches out.]

Eddie, I'm sorry. I didn't know I'd forget everything.

[respirations]

Yeah, I remember. You were crying.

❪ he can't help his own frown as he sets his fork down with food, more or less, forgotten about in the moment. there's only a small pause before eddie reaches up to touch the scar on his chest, feeling the raised skin and awkward scarring with a sigh. ❫

You don't have to apologize, Rich. It's not like you left knowing that shit was going to happen.

[sloppybitch]

I almost killed all of us trying to get you out. You were technically dead for like forty seconds, dude. I risked everything and for a while, god, even Bev was pissed at me.

[Ultimately though, when Richie broke down into inconsolable sobs she understood. They all did and when Eddie clung to life in the hospital Richie had stayed much longer than everyone else. All the way through to his physical rehab. He'd never expected to be eating Indian alongside him almost a year later. Even if he wasn't doing much eating right now.]

I didn't want to live in a world without you in it.

[respirations]

❪ there's a silence on eddie's part as he listens. when it came to what happened underneath derry there was a point where his memories fade and black out. he imagines it likely had to do with the forty seconds or so of being legally dead that richie mentions. ❫

I can't pretend to know what you felt at the time or even what it's like to make a decision like that. ❪ as he said, richie risked everything and everyone for him. while he, on the hand, only knew that he could die if it meant saving his friend. was that selfish though? he isn't sure. ❫

But I know that I'm happy now, here, with you.

[sloppybitch]

[What he felt was that it was wrong to leave Eddie among the bodies and bullshit that they knew was under Neibolt. If the situation had been reversed, he'd hope nobody would ever leave him in that hellhole.

So, yeah, the other losers gave him strife and he did take on his own injury trying to save Eddie but it was all worth it in the end. Even more, when he realized that he'd saved him. There's something bittersweet in being able to just chat over dinner with him now like this and a pang of sadness finds its way into his eyes, betraying the forced smile he has on his face.]

Me too. Wouldn't have it any other way.