"Richie is laying in the hammock reading comic books and just in general being lazy when Eddie climbs down the ladder kicking off his shoes and jumping into the hammock with him. Giggling a little and nudging Richie in the stomach with his foot. Richie looks at him over his book raising an eyebrow at Eddie's smile. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Richie asks laying his comic down on his chest. "My mom had to leave town to go help my aunt and couldn't take me out of school to go with her so I'm staying with Bill and his family for the next few days so basicly I'm free to do normal stuff and not have to worry about her." Awesome! " Richie responds "Oh! We should camp out here in the club house." "YES!" Eddie yells jumping up and pulling Richie with him "Come on lets go get everyone else." Later that night Richie lays in the hammock watching Eddie laughing and stuffing his face with junk food and getting to be an actual kid for once. A while later after everyone has calmed down and Mike and Stan have already fallen asleep, Bill over in the corner writing in a notebook and Ben drifting off with his headphones on, Eddie climbs into the hammock snuggling up next to Richie. "This was fun. The most I've had in a long time. Thank you for putting this together." He tells him laying his head down on Richie's shoulder. "Anything for you spaghetti you deserve to get to be a normal kid every once in a while." Richie tells him looking down at his face to realize Eddie has already fallen asleep on him with a smile on his face. Richie smiles and takes off his glasses preparing to follow suit.
""I can't believe I'll be gone by this time tomorrow." Eddie says sniffling and looking over at Richie sprawled out in the hammock, long limbs hanging over the sides not even trying to hide the sadness on his face. "I know it's not going to be the same around here without you" Richie says turning his head away from Eddie to hide the tears in his eyes "I just.. it's going to be horrible, going to be stuck with my mother and no one to turn to or to get away with for a while..." Eddie trails off as he starts crying. Richie turns back to him "oh Eds.." he says holding out his arms to him. Eddie collapses in to the hammock with him. Clutching Richie's shirt in his hands, face buried in his shoulder both crying at this point. "I don't want to leave.." Eddie sniffles into his shirt " it will be ok Eds, we'll keep in touch" Richie tells him running his hands through Eddie's hair. "I just..." Eddie looks up at Richie shaking his head but is cut off before he can finish his sentence by Richie kissing him. Eddie responds by melting into him. "Fuck..." Richie says pulling away " I love you Eddie. I have for a while but I was always too scared to say anything and now I'm regretting all that time I lost with you" " I love you too. That makes so much more sense now of what I've been feeling and why it hurts so much more to think about leaving you than the others" Eddie says between sniffles and wiping his tears and leans in kissing Richie again. "Fuck moving to LA when I leave. I'm coming to New York with you" Richie tells him laying kisses all over his face. "What about collage?" Eddie asks giggling " New York has schools or forget school or being a stand up, fuck it I'll be on SNL" Richie yells laughing and pulling Eddie close and kissing him again. They spent the whole night in the hammock planning for their future and cuddling trying to make up for lost time.
"Richie was laying in the hammock moping like he has been doing the whole week since Eddie moved away. Thinking about what could have been if he had told Eddie how he felt earlier. He tries not to dwell on it and just count down the days until he can leave this town behind and go be with Eddie and spend the rest of his life happy. Thinking about what their life will be like. His thoughts are interrupted by someone coming down the ladder. Its Ben and he seems a bit surprised to see Richie there. "Oh hey, didn't realize anyone else would be here. I usually come here to gather my thoughts."" I can go if you'd rather be alone" Richie tells him quietly. "no you're fine" Ben tells him sitting down on a bean bag chair and pulling out a notebook and some chips out of his backpack. He offers some in Richie's direction who shakes his head no sadly. "Plus you seem like you could use some company. You ok?" "yea i'm fine" Richie say barely above a whisper. "Yea I don't think you are. You've been really quiet lately and you just don't seem to have the Richie spark." Ben tells him laying back. Richie looks over at him and sighs" I just miss Eddie" Ben shakes his head "yea I miss him too. He was a great friend" "yea but its more than that I..." Richie cuts himself off before he can spill his secret. But Ben being the observant loving friend he is says " I get it Rich I do. I still miss Bev...a whole lot." Richie looks over at him and opens his mouth several times thinking over his words. " I can trust you right? Like more than anyone I feel like I can trust you with anything." "Of course Richie. you can tell me anything." Ben tells him sitting up. Richie sighs and rubs his hands over his face laying back in the hammock and staring up at the ceiling. " Eddie is the only other person who knows this...but I need to say it... I'm gay ...and in love with Eddie" the silence goes on for what seems like hours to Richie but in reality its only a minute before Ben breaks the silence " I'm glad you told me Richie. I imagine it makes you feel better to share this with someone else. and it makes me feel good that you trust me with your secret. I promise it will stay that way as long as you want it to." "Thank you Ben. For the promise and for being such a great friend. " Richie tells him with tears in his eyes. Ben sees this and jumps up to engulf him in a big hug both laughing. Richie feeling happy for the first time since Eddie left.
"Richie is startled awake by someone yelling his name. He looks over to the source of the noise squinting partially due to the sun and not having his glasses on to see Steve his manager staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face. "Rich what the hell are you doing!?" Steve half yells at him sounding aggravated. "Well I was sleeping " Steve sighs loudly rubbing his temples. "Why the fuck are you outside in a hammock? You have a perfectly good and may I mention expensive bed upstairs. and I know how expensive because when you complained of not being able to sleep I purchased it for you. now I come here knocking and calling you for 20 mins before just letting myself in and searching all over your unnecessary big house only to find you outside peacefully asleep in a piece of junk hammock." he tells him getting louder and more agitated as he goes. Oscar Richie's cat meows popping his head out from under the pile of blankets. Richie scratches his head baby talking him " oh I know buddy it's too early for anyone to be this loud." " Would you just focus! and it's not early its almost noon and you have a lunch meeting to be at in an hour" "sorry it just really comforting and I was finally getting some good sleep" "what is going on ? You're not taking shit again, are you? You've been a clean way to long man" "no hell not even the sleeping meds the DR gave me, I was getting sleep with them but not rest I kept having these fucked up dreams of misleading doors and these fucking ventriloquist dummies I don't know just the past months have be weird it's hard to describe without sounding crazy like all the tension is building up to some shit storm I'm not prepared for to happen. But out here at least I've been getting some peace and rest." Richie tells him getting up and heading inside Oscar following on his heals Steve shaking his head and following him inside.
" I can't believe all our stuff is still down here" Bev says running her hand over the old boom box. "Here Ben I think this was yours" she say tossing a New Kids on the Block tape to him laughing. Richie laughs looking from the box of comic books he found and over at Ben blushing a bit. But its Richie's turn to blush when Eddie says jumping into their old hammock "I can't believe we both use to fit in this Rich there is no way now you're fucking huge" " Been talking to your mother have you? I didn't figure her to be one to kiss and tell" he recovers with a joke as usual with a wink in Eddie's direction. "Shut up you know what I meant" Eddie tells him crossing his arms " I'm pretty sure we can both still fit you're basically pocket sized" Richie laughs attempting to climb in while avoiding Eddie's hands swinging at him trying to stop him. Eddie gets in a good smack to his face knocking off his glasses and causing him to flop down on to him and the hammock come crashing down to the ground causing Richie to land on top of Eddie. The other four in the room laughing too hard to notice the look being exchanged between the two on the ground. Their faces close together Richie leans down lips moving closer to Eddie's as he leans up a memory of another night spent in the hammock forever ago coming back to both of them. Only to be interrupted before they can meet by the wooden crate Bill was leaning on braking and a third loser hitting the ground. Richie rolling off of Eddie both of them joining the laughter. "We better get out of here before we completely destroy the place" Mike says heading for the ladder still laughing and shaking his head.
"They lay in the hammock kissing with an intensity and fire that they use to bicker with as children. Richie has his arms wrapped around Eddie's back both of Eddie's hands in Richie's hair. Richie pulls back breaking the kiss to remove his glasses that were digging into the side of his face and just carelessly dropping them behind him on the ground landing on their discarded clothes they tossed there earlier. " You've still not learned take care of those have you? Eddie asks with a laugh "Eh I can afford more now" Richie shrugs rolling over on to his back the plastic ring on eddies finger catching his hair as Eddie rolls over as well. "Sorry" Eddie says pulling his hand up and looking at the rings there "I can't believe you proposed to me in a hammock with a toy ring you pulled out of a cereal box." Eddie laughs shaking his head. " I can't believe you said yes" Richie says kissing his cheek. " I can't believe you still eat like a child. Cereal in the middle of the day. Actually never mind yes I can." " I can't believe you let me do the things we did in a hammock outside in the middle of the day" Richie says nuzzling and laying kisses on Eddie's'neck. They both jump and scramble for the blanket at their waist when they hear the gate to the back yard open and slam shut. "What the hell Rich?! Were you not going to tell me when you got back? " Steve stops in front of them " you up and leave after butchering a show and go off to who knows where, then call and tell me a week later you're going to be staying with a friend in New York for a while. Leaving me nothing to tell anyone about your cancelled shows or whats to come with your career. I come over to your house to feed your cat like you asked and find you with some random guy apparently naked" he says gestering around to the clothes on the ground. " First of all I'm home, thanks for feeding Oscar and this is Eddie my fiance" Richie says holding Eddie's'hand up showing Steve the ring. "Of course he is." Steve sighs "anything else?" "Uh yea I want to fire my writers and start writing my own material, and I want to come out publicly. What's the point of have a fiance this hot if I can't show him off?' Richie says grinning at Eddie then looking up and Steve with a smile on his face. "Oh you are going to cause me to have a stroke one day" Steve tells him turning and heading towards the house "Just come inside to discuss everything when you have pants on again." "OH! and I need new glasses!" Richie yells before bursting out laughing at Steve throwing up a hand and flipping him off before dissapearing into the house "I should defiantly give him a raise" He says getting up and gathering their clothes
"Eddie walks down the stairs looking and calling for his husband. Not finding him in the kitchen or on the couch he looks out the glass sliding doors leading to their back patio. In the moonlight he can make out one long leg slung over the side of the hammock socked foot touching the ground just enough to slightly sway the hammock back and forth. He opens the doors stepping outside into the chilly air "hey Rich what are you doing..." he starts to ask but is cut off when Richie shushes him putting a finger to his lips and whispering "shhh, she's finally asleep" Eddie walks over to see their 6 month old daughter sound asleep snugged up on Richie's chest. he leans over running a hand over her soft curls. "She seems really content out here" "hmm must be in her blood" Richie laughs sounding and looking very sleepy when he looks up at Eddie giving him a lopsided smile. Eddie steps back inside grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch and heading back out and ca fully climbing into the hammock next to his family and throwing the blanket over them and curling up and laying his head on Richie's shoulder. Richie turns his head placing a kiss on top of Eddie's head. " With everything we've been through i never thought this is how i'd end up." "Cramped up in a hammock that we no longer fit in comfortably anymore" Richie laughs out. "No, happy."/p