Brave
Chapter 13 – Trust

For the second morning in a row, Richie woke up curled around Eddie, their limbs still entangled. Richie smiled, momentarily tightening his grip around Eddie before he relaxed again, staring up into Eddie's gloriously serene face.

"I love you," Richie whispered.

Eddie stirred gently against Richie and mumbled back, "I love you too." His eyes were still closed as he stilled, and Richie wasn't entirely sure whether Eddie was waking up or not. Maybe he was still asleep, caught somewhere in a dream about Richie himself.

This caused Richie to smile again, nuzzling into Eddie's neck. A part of Richie wanted to let Eddie sleep, but based on what had happened yesterday, he didn't quite think that that was the best option; the last thing he wanted was for Eddie to wake up in a near-panic because he thought that Richie had up and left him again.

"Eds?" Richie asked quietly.

Eddie stirred again, turning his head towards Richie. He still didn't open his eyes, but he asked, "Hm?"

"I'm gonna go get us some bagels and coffee again," Richie said, "okay?"

"'Kay."

"Do you need your meds before I go?"

Eddie didn't reply right away, but he took a moment to stretch slightly. Eddie finally opened his eyes and said, "I don't think so. It's twinging a little, but I'm not really in pain. I'm more concerned about possibly developing an addiction to them given my history, you know? I'd rather not take them unless I absolutely need them."

"Yeah," Richie replied, pressing a kiss against Eddie's cheek. "I'll be back." Richie started to get up, disengaging his limbs from Eddie's, but then Eddie called him back.

"Richie?"

"Hm?" Richie asked, pausing just above Eddie.

"Last night was nice," Eddie said quietly, but then his cheeks burned red. "I mean, I know we didn't do anything…involved, but…I liked what we did do. A lot."

Speaking of twinges, Richie felt one somewhere in the center of his chest – almost like he had just gone down a large hill on a roller coaster. Grinning, Richie closed the distance between them, kissing Eddie deeply. Because Jesus Christ, here was Eddie Kaspbrak, the man of his dreams and one of the most straight-laced people he knew, telling Richie that he enjoyed it when they made out and felt each other up. Richie had never even imagined Eddie doing such things in his wildest dreams, must less that they would ever be directed at Richie of all people. What the fuck had he ever done to deserve this?

"Me too," Richie murmured against Eddie's lips, letting his hand drift down to Eddie's hip. "You want to come downstairs with me?" he asked now that Eddie was waking up.

"No," Eddie said. "I'm gonna stay in bed a while longer. Wait for you to bring me breakfast in bed again, because I kind of like it."

"I'll do it every day if you let me."

"Mm," Eddie murmured, apparently taking a moment to think about this. "I guess I'll keep you around then."

"That's what your mom said too."

"Oh my god," Eddie bit out, pushing playfully against Richie's shoulder. "Get the fuck off me and go get my breakfast, jackass."

Grinning again, Richie pressed one more quick kiss to Eddie's cheek before he got up. He grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and put them on, quickly pulling on his jeans and toing on his shoes. Eddie watched him as he went, a small smile present on his lips and around his eyes. Richie sighed and smiled at him one last time before grabbing the key and making his way from the room.

Only Ben was seated at the bar in the lounge that day, sipping at his coffee and reading that morning's paper. He looked up and smiled when he saw Richie enter.

"Hey, man," Ben said as Richie made his way over to the bar and sat down. Ben seemed to watch Richie for a long time as he poured himself a cup of coffee and stirred in his customary three spoonfuls of sugar.

"No Bev this morning?" Richie asked around a yawn.

Ben swallowed his sip of coffee before he said, "No, she's on a conference call with her company." Ben ran a hand over his face as he let out a heavy sigh. "Tom isn't going to make this shit easy for her." He paused, staring down at the newspaper before him, absentmindedly picking at one of corners.

Richie murmured around his coffee cup. "Fucking exes. Am I right?"

"Yeah," Ben replied quietly. "At least Eddie doesn't have to deal with a jointly-owned company with Myra. That's a whole other headache altogether."

Richie snorted into his coffee cup. "Maybe we could introduce Tom to Myra. They could distract each other for a while."

Ben smiled, but he watched Richie closely again for a moment. "You look happy though," Ben observed.

Richie set his coffee cup back down on the bar. "I am," he said, sitting back in his barstool and rubbing at his eyes underneath his glasses. He ran a hand through his hair and said, "I mean, aside from Myra and all the shit that went on yesterday…a lot of things are…really good. You guys know and accept the real me, and I'm with Eddie, which is all I've ever wanted." Richie stared long and hard at Ben. "I can finally fucking be myself, at least where you guys are concerned." Richie leaned forward, setting his arms on the bar and staring down into his cup of coffee. He frowned deeply as he said, "I've never really been able to say that before."

Ben laid a comforting hand on Richie's arm, smiling. "Well," he said a moment later, "take a look at this, because I think it's going to make you even happier." He let go of Richie and pushed the newspaper he was reading across the bar.

Richie turned the paper around to face him, his mouth dropping open at the headline on the front page.

SUSPECTS APPREHENDED IN HATE CRIME

"'Due to an anonymous tip,'" Richie read aloud, "'four suspects are now in police custody on suspicion of a hate crime that occurred last month at the Derry Canal Days Festival.'" Richie swallowed hard, his throat suddenly feeling too tight to speak any further. He stuck his fingers under his glasses again, rubbing at his eyes and squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Jesus."

"At least those assholes are off the streets," Ben said. "They're not going to be doing this shit to anyone else."

Richie found himself staring down at his coffee mug again. He couldn't quite stop the feeling of guilt that coiled around in his stomach like a snake, making him feel slightly sick. Richie didn't think he'd ever stop feeling bad about the fact that he didn't report what had happened with those assholes. Yeah, they were in police custody for now, but Richie wanted to make sure they stayed there; hiding the fact that they had tried to attack another gay couple certainly wasn't going to help matters any.

Richie shook his head at the sensation in the pit of his stomach and decided to focus on happier things, because as he had told Ben, despite the fact that there was still a lot of shit going on, more than enough was going right.

"Can I ask you something?" Richie asked.

"Yeah, man."

Richie opened his mouth, but then he closed it again, not quite sure how to voice his thoughts. He mulled this over in his mind for a while before he said, "We're both kind of in the same boat – madly in love with people who are both married to assholes."

"Yeah," Ben said again. "So what's your question?"

"I keep having this insane thought," Richie admitted around a laugh. "Which, I guess, isn't that out of the ordinary for me, but it is for Eddie."

One of Ben's eyebrows went up in curiosity. "What are you thinking?"

"Eddie and I are meant to be," Richie said firmly. "I'm not certain of a whole hell of a lot, but I'm at least sure of that much. You don't stay in love with someone for well over half your life if they're not your soulmate. Especially when you even forgot they existed for twenty years." Richie suddenly found himself laughing again. "And I realize how absurd it probably is to hear me say shit like that – Trashmouth talking like a goddamn romance novel – but it's true." Richie paused, biting at his bottom lip in trepidation. "Is that how you feel about Bev? You know it's a sure thing?"

Ben had propped up his head in his hand, watching as Richie rambled on. "Yeah," Ben finally admitted. "Both Bev and I are certain about this."

"That's what I mean though," Richie said around a sigh. "I'm…not so sure Eddie knows it." At Ben's slightly concerned expression, Richie said, "I mean, he loves me and he wants to be with me. There's no question about that. But…he's a little uncertain about my commitment to him. After all that shit went down yesterday, he basically came right out and asked me if I was going to end things. He's afraid that I'm just going to up and leave because shit gets hard sometimes." Richie scoffed at this like it was the most absurd idea known to man. "Like I waited for him for thirty fucking years just to break things off right after I've gotten him."

Ben considered this for a while. "So you're asking how to make sure that Eddie knows you're serious about your relationship?"

"Yeah," Richie said, nodding, "that's what I'm asking. And that's where my insane idea comes in." He grimaced and picked up his coffee cup again, but didn't drink from it. He swirled it around in his grip and laughed softly before he said, "He threw his wedding ring over the Kissing Bridge yesterday, and now I keep getting this urge to…replace it."

Both of Ben's eyebrows went up now as he watched Richie closely.

"See? You think it's insane too!" Richie exclaimed, throwing up his free hand. "He's still fucking married. I can't possibly ask him to marry me yet, even though I kind of really want to. He has way too much to sort out with Myra before he's even remotely ready to think about taking that step again." Richie shook his head. "It's stupid. I know it is. I just hate the thought of him thinking that I'm not serious about this, about him. Because I've never been more serious about anything in my life."

Ben took a drink of coffee, then set his cup down. "Well," he said thoughtfully, "you're right. I don't know about engagement just yet, but you could always give him a promise ring. I hear it's what all the cool kids are doing these days."

"But we're not kids."

Ben shrugged. "You missed that stage of your relationship. I say go for it."


Richie kept going over and over Ben's words as he and Eddie got ready that morning. They were falling into a new routine where Richie would help Eddie into and out of the bath before checking and rebandaging his wound. Once Richie had seen his scar the first time, Eddie barely seemed to give it a second thought anymore, which gave Richie a warm feeling in the middle of his chest.

After taking a quick shower and pulling on a pair of pants, Richie made his way back out to the room he shared with Eddie. Eddie was sitting on the bed in just his blue jeans, his bandages covering up most of his torso. Eddie was smiling at something on his phone, completely oblivious to the fact that Richie was eyeing him closely, because fuck.

Richie kept thinking about the gorgeous fucking abs and defined muscles that lay underneath those bandages. Richie desperately wished for the day when the bandages would be gone, and he would get to see them whenever he wanted. Would get to touch them and kiss like he constantly had the urge to.

Trying to shake the thoughts from his head, Richie went over to the dresser and pulled out a clean t-shirt. The only thing that sucked about remaining in Derry for so long and so unexpectedly was that Richie had only brought five sets of clothes, one of which had been thrown out long ago. Ben and Bev had been generous enough to take his clothes to the laundromat more than a few times already while Richie was at the hospital with Eddie. Now it looked like it was about time for Richie to go again.

"Hey, man," Richie said, shaking out the wrinkles from his shirt, "maybe we should go clothes shopping. I didn't exactly bring supplies for an extended vacation. Speaking of which, my manager is going to kill me. He's already had to cancel my shows for the foreseeable future, and I still don't know when I'm going to be back yet."

When Eddie didn't reply to him, Richie turned back towards the bed. "Eds?" he asked, but then the man in question was immediately behind him. "Holy shit," Richie breathed out, Eddie stepping up close to him.

"I haven't seen you without a shirt on since we were kids," Eddie said heavily, his eyes drifting up and down Richie's chest. Richie could see him swallowing as Eddie reached out his fingers, pressing them against the hair that covered Richie's stomach, just above the waistband of his jeans. Glancing back up at Richie, there was a glint in Eddie's eyes that Richie had never quite seen before. "You didn't tell me you got so hot."

Richie huffed out a breath, because he had that thought again – where in the hell did this almost feral Eddie come from and what had Richie done to be on the receiving end of it? "You didn't tell me you were so ripped," Richie said, looking down his nose at Eddie. "I'd say that makes us even."

Just as quickly as it had come, however, that uninhibited look in Eddie's eye was gone. He frowned, staring down at where his fingers were resting over Richie's stomach.

"What?" Richie asked.

"I just…" Eddie began, but then he paused and bit at his lip. "Are you sure you don't need to go back to work? I mean, I wouldn't be mad if you had to leave early. I don't want you to lose fans because you have to be here to take care of me. The other Losers can-"

Richie pressed a finger to Eddie's lips to silence him. "I'm sure," Richie said firmly. "My fans can wait. If they don't understand that the love of my life is more important than making them laugh, they can go fuck themselves."

Eddie flattened his palms against Richie's stomach, then let them travel up, resting them against Richie's pecs. Eddie stood up on tiptoes and kissed him.

Richie wrapped his hands around Eddie's hips, then paused for a very long time. His heart seemed to flip over in his chest as he slowly dipped his hands down lower than he had the night before. He slipped them into the back pockets of Eddie's jeans, cupping his ass gently, which elicited a yelp from the back of Eddie's throat. Richie thought he might have overstepped his bounds for a moment, that Eddie was going to push him away, but Eddie only wrapped his hands around the back of Richie's neck. Eddie pulled Richie down towards him insistently, desperately trying to deepen their kiss even more.

Encouraged by this, Richie turned slightly until Eddie's ass was pressed up against the dresser behind him. Richie pulled his hands from Eddie's pockets, letting them drift down to Eddie's thighs.

"This okay?" Richie asked, breaking their kiss momentarily.

"Fuck, yes," Eddie murmured, sealing their lips together again.

Richie cupped Eddie's thighs and lifted up gently until Eddie was seated on the top of the dresser. Eddie wrapped his legs around Richie's waist, pulling him even closer, his fingers threading through the shower-damp hair at the back of Richie's neck.

Richie thrust his hips forward into Eddie's. Eddie still didn't seem to have any problem with this, groaning into Richie's mouth at the sensation, but then all at once, Richie broke the kiss, because, Jesus Christ, what were they doing? Richie stepped backwards slightly, but he was still close enough that Eddie's legs stayed around his waist.

Eddie looked at him curiously, his brown eyes even larger than usual, his breath coming in heavy pants. "What's wrong?" Eddie asked, a small frown forming on his features. He released the back of Richie's neck, his hands settling on Richie's chest again instead.

"N-nothing," Richie gasped out around his own heavy breaths. "I just…" He paused again, swallowing hard. "Do you think we're moving too fast?"

"Twenty-seven goddamn years, Rich," Eddie pointed out. "If we moved any slower, we'd be going backwards."

"I know," Richie agreed, "but…this is all kind of sudden. Up until yesterday, we hadn't done anything except kiss a lot, and now…"

"Rich," Eddie said, suddenly letting his legs fall away from Richie's waist. "We don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable. This is new for both of us and-"

Richie shook his head firmly. "I'm not uncomfortable. Not in the least." He paused, biting at his lower lip in trepidation. He didn't know why it was so hard for him to voice his concerns to Eddie.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me," Eddie said. His hands were still on Richie's chest, and he moved his thumbs back and forth through the hair. "You know that, right?"

Swallowing hard, Richie nodded and released Eddie's waist. He brought his hands up to Eddie's where they were placed on his chest, laying them over Eddie's. Eddie turned his hands over, gripping Richie's tightly in his before letting their clasped hands fall to his lap. Still, Eddie kept running his thumbs over the backs of Richie's hands in a comforting fashion.

"I'm not uncomfortable," Richie said again, because the last thing he wanted was for Eddie to think he wasn't into this. "I told you last night, I'm down to start exploring and shit. I've been repressing my sexuality for thirty fucking years. I'm more than ready for this. I just…are you ready for this?" He stared into Eddie's eyes at these words, trying to gauge his reaction.

"Fuck yes," Eddie replied, squeezing Richie's hands tightly in his. "I thought that much was obvious from my reaction. I'm really fucking into this, Rich. Why would I be going along with this otherwise?"

"Because," Richie said, but then he stopped for a long time. He frowned deeply and stared down at their interlocked hands, not quite sure if Eddie would appreciate his overprotectiveness or not. When Richie met Eddie's eyes again, he asked, "Remember what I told you at the Kissing Bridge? So many of your relationships have been about control and…I keep worrying that you're going along with this because you think it's what I want. It's kind of why I pulled back last night before things got really out of hand."

Eddie shook his head furiously. "God, no. I really fucking want this, okay? Like you wouldn't believe." Eddie swallowed hard before he added, "I knew that was why you stopped last night, and god…you don't know how much I love you for it. You never make me feel like I have to do something. I've never felt that way with you."

"Never?" Richie stared deeply into Eddie's eyes, hopeful, searching.

"No," Eddie stressed. "Remember what I told you before you changed my bandages for the first time? You're the person I trust most in this world. I know I don't have to go along with shit just to make you happy. You have to know that I'm not afraid to tell you to get the fuck off of me if I'm uncomfortable with what we're doing."

Richie sighed before he nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do." He smiled after a moment and added, "I know you don't have a problem telling me to fuck off. But…I'm afraid that we might get carried and end up doing shit that you realize you weren't ready for. And I don't want that. I don't want you to regret anything about us. I don't want you to regret me."

Eddie let out a soft breath and he released Richie's hands. Eddie brought his palms up to Richie's cheeks before he said, "I could never regret you. I could never regret us. Or anything we do together. Because I trust you. You know that, right?"

Richie swallowed audibly and leaned forward until his forehead was pressed up against Eddie's. Of course Richie knew that Eddie trusted him; Eddie never would let him see his scar and help him with shit like baths otherwise. But when Eddie flat-out told him so, a funny little feeling settled into Richie chest. It was a tight fullness that Richie didn't think he'd ever get tired of.

Eddie's trust would never be something that he gave away easily, and he chose to give it to Richie of all people.

"Yeah," Richie whispered, his voice thick.

"Okay," Eddie said, tipping his head back and away from Richie's slightly. He took a moment to look deeply into Richie's eyes before he said, "And now I'm asking you to trust me."

"I do," Richie immediately replied. He laid his hands over Eddie's thighs, squeezing. "God, I do. You know I wouldn't be doing this shit with just anyone. I wouldn't be here right now with you if I didn't trust you."

"Then trust that I'm aware of what I want and what I don't want," Eddie told him. "Even when I was used to submitting to what my mother and Myra wanted, I was still always conscious of the fact that it was never what I wanted. It was always what they wanted, but that doesn't mean I never knew what I wanted. I've always known what I wanted, and that's you. This. I told you I wanted to kiss you ever since the first time I squeezed into that hammock with you. And that's not all I've wanted to do."

Eddie closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against Richie's in another searing kiss. Richie, however, broke it again, leaning back and looking at Eddie closely.

"Just promise me something," Richie said before Eddie could inquire further.

"What's that?"

"If we're ever doing anything that's starting to make you the least bit uncomfortable," Richie said firmly, "please just tell me, okay? I don't care what we're doing. We could be about to have sex-"

"Oh, Jesus Christ, Rich," Eddie bit out, his cheeks turning that fetching shade of red.

"And if you suddenly decide you don't want to," Richie continued on, "you just say the word and it stops. No questions asked. I promise I won't be mad or frustrated, because the last thing I ever want to do is make you do something you're not ready for. Okay?"

Eddie nodded and replied, "Yeah. I told you I trust you. That includes knowing that you'll stop if I ever ask you to."

"Okay," Richie whispered, a smile growing to consume his features. His hands drifted up Eddie's thighs to his hips, reaching out to encircle them. "As long as we're both on the same page then, I guess we can start exploring each other more."

"Shut up and kiss me," Eddie said, once again closing the distance between them.

Eddie leaned forward fully, pressing his chest up against Richie's and sealing their lips together. Eddie moaned at the sensation before momentarily pulling away.

"I love feeling your chest against mine," Eddie whispered against Richie's lips. "It really fucking turns me on." He paused, glancing down between them. "I can't wait till I get these fucking bandages off and can feel you completely."

"Holy shit," Richie muttered, kissing Eddie back hungrily. He ran his hands up Eddie's back, also wishing that those fucking bandages could be gone so he could feel Eddie's skin under his fingers too. "How did we ever keep our hands off each other?"

"I don't know," Eddie murmured between kisses. "I don't know."

Just then, however, Eddie's phone began to ring from over on the bed. Eddie groaned loudly into Richie's mouth.

"If that's fucking Myra-" Richie bit out, trailing kisses along Eddie's jaw and back towards his ear.

"I know," Eddie replied, placing his hands flat against Richie's chest and pushing him away gently. Eddie climbed down off the dresser and made his way over to the bed as he said, "But I have to if want to get this divorce moving." Eddie retrieved his phone from the bed, his mouth opening in an expression of surprise. "It's Bill," Eddie told Richie, swiping his screen to accept the call. "Hey, big Bill." Eddie took a seat on the end of the bed while Richie leaned against the dresser.

"Hey," came Bill's voice from the other end of the line. He paused for a moment before he said, "Don't be mad at Bev, but…she kind of called me and said…you and Richie were attacked? What the f-fuck happened?

"Oh," Eddie said quietly, blinking his eyes in surprise. He stared at Richie before he went on. "Um. Yeah. We're both okay. It sounds a lot worse than is."

"Shit!" Bill cried through the phone. "I knew I shouldn't have left without the rest of you, but my wife and this fucking director were breathing down my neck-"

"Bill, we're fine," Richie said loudly to make sure that Bill could hear him. He made his way across the room, taking a seat on the foot of the bed next to Eddie.

"Richie?"

"Yeah," Richie replied. "I have a fat lip. That's all. Absolutely nothing to be concerned about."

"What happened?" Bill asked again.

"Um," Richie said. His tongue darted out, feeling the slightly swollen skin at the corner of his mouth. At least it had gone down a bit after Beverly had made him put ice on it yesterday. Richie then glanced up at Eddie to make sure that he was okay to have this discussion with Bill. Eddie nodded unnecessarily, because Richie knew it wasn't fair for the rest of the Losers to know and not Bill.

Richie took a moment to rub his hand across the back of his neck, his damp curls tickling his skin there. "Well, long story short, you remember those assholes who beat up Adrian and Don? You know, before Pennywise killed Adrian?"

"Yeah…" Bill said, his tone slow and confused.

"We had a little run-in with them at the Kissing Bridge," Richie said nonchalantly.

Eddie stared at him for a long time, his brown eyes large and round. Perhaps Eddie was surprised that Richie had just cut right to the chase with Bill, but Richie was more than ready to be out, at least where their friends were concerned. Things had gone well enough with everyone else, and Richie knew that Bill wouldn't care either, especially considering he was one of Eddie's best friends.

A long moment of silence met their ears, but then Bill said, "Oh." His tone was clear, understanding. No one said anything else right away, but then Bill asked, "So you two finally admitted your feelings to each other." The smile, the smugness was evident in his voice.

"Yeah," Eddie replied softly, leaning his head against Richie's shoulder. "Why didn't you guys just tell us to stop being stubborn assholes already?"

Bill snorted. "You know you wouldn't have listened to us."

"Did everyone fucking know but us?" Richie asked in exasperation.

"Yes," Bill said.

"Told you," Eddie said affectionately, entwining the fingers of his free hand with Richie's.

"Jesus," Richie said. "Do you have any idea how long I've agonized over this shit? Not just with coming out, but with possibly ruining my friendship with Eddie if I said anything? And now I come to find out everyone already knew we both felt the same way." Richie flopped back onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling wide-eyed. "Unbelievable."

Eddie snickered.

A moment later, Bill's concerned voice came through the speaker again. "But you two are okay, right?"

Eddie smiled, rubbing his thumb over the back of Richie's hand. "Yeah," Eddie said firmly. "A lot better than okay actually."

"Sounds like it," Bill replied, his voice happy, understanding.

"And speaking of which," Richie told them, "they caught those assholes, so hopefully, we don't need to worry about them anymore."

"Good," Bill said. "You guys will let me knew if you need anything, right?"

"Yeah, we will," Eddie promised.

"Okay," Bill answered. "I have to get back on set before my director has a coronary, but…have fun, you two."

"Bye, Bill," Richie yelled, because it was already starting. The Losers were ribbing them for being madly in love with each other. And Richie wouldn't have it any other way.

When Eddie hung up and dropped his phone on the mattress, he climbed onto his knees on the bed. Richie watched him curiously, and a moment later, Eddie was straddling Richie's hips.

"Fuck," Richie whispered, staring up at Eddie in shock. He ran his hands over Eddie's thighs and up to his hips, gripping them tightly. "I think I've created a monster."

Eddie grinned, placing his hands on the mattress next to Richie's head. He slowly lowered himself until he was lying flat against Richie, their chests pressed together. "I told you," Eddie said, sucking on Richie's bottom lip, "I like when our bodies are pressed up against each other. Turns me on."

Richie groaned, trying his best to keep his own hips still. He knew that Eddie was more than ready to start exploring, but Richie still wanted to make sure that they weren't taking things too fast. Because at this rate, they were already going to be ripping each other's clothes off by next week. Not that Richie had a problem with that, but they had their entire lives together for this sort of thing, and it would come in its own time. Not to mention, Eddie was still healing and they could have a lot more fun together once Eddie's injuries weren't a problem anymore.

Running his hands up and down Eddie's back, Richie caressed the bandages over Eddie's scar. Richie picked his head up from the mattress, capturing Eddie's lips in a deep kiss before trailing his lips back along Eddie's jaw. He settled his nose into that place just behind Eddie's ear that Richie knew was super sensitive, darting his tongue out quickly over the skin.

"Richie," Eddie whispered, pressing his hips down insistently.

Richie groaned again, louder this time, because goddamn, this man was going to be the death of him. Laying his head back down on the mattress, Richie stared up at Eddie, at the man of his dreams just above him, once again wondering what he had ever done to deserve this. To be the object of this man's affections.

Releasing Eddie's back with one hand, Richie cupped one of Eddie's cheeks. "I love you, Eds," Richie said, "and I've never stopped. Not since I was thirteen years old and I never will."

"Neither will I," Eddie said, kissing Richie again.

Just then, however, Eddie's phone rang once again. It was Eddie's turn to groan loudly, but this time for an entirely different reason than before.

"Fuck," Eddie grunted. He reached his hand out absently for his phone on the other side of the mattress, not taking his lips away from Richie's. "I swear to god, I love Bill, but I am going to kill him."

Eddie had apparently found his phone and accepted the call. He tucked his head underneath Richie's chin and asked, "What'd you forget?" When no response came, Eddie lifted his head from Richie's chest. "Bill?"

"No, it isn't Bill, Edward."

Fuck. It was Myra.

To be continued…

Author's note: These two…now that I let them have a little fun, that's all they want to do now :/