Well, I've decided to make Ted a bit nicer in this chapter instead of an asshole like I said in the last A/N. In the next chapter, we'll get to see some adorable Richie/Lonora and Richie/Holly, along with a bit of family bonding (minus Ted cus you know, he's passed out in his Lay-Z-Boy after dinner). I'm skipping the dinner part but it will be mentioned in the beginning of the next chapter XD.
Hope you guys liked the chapter! :)
Sunday, June 3, 1992
6 PM
Tonight is the night that Richie finally meets his real family, and to say he was nervous was a complete understatement. Apparently, Mike had told his mom that he had a boyfriend, and she was fine with it, and so was the rest of the family. Karen had even invited Eddie to come, so here they were, knocking on the front door. Bev had to redo Richie's nails today, because he bit ad his nails so much the polish just chipped right off.
"Hey!" Mike's smiling face greeted them as he opened the door. Richie gave him a nervous smile. "Don't be nervous, dude, trust me." Mike told him, giving him a small smile. Mike gave him a side hug and did the same with Eddie. The two followed Mike down the hall, and looked at the pictures hung on the wall. Well, Mike wasn't wrong when he told him he looked like a frog as a teen. Richie heard El laughing with two others in the kitchen, and he was even more nervous, knowing that it was most likely his mothers laughter.
"Hey mom, El, Nance they're here." Mike said, leaning against the door frame in the kitchen. Richie stood next to him and Eddie stood on the other side, holding his hand tightly. The three looked their way, silence immediately taking over. El grinned at them, waving, and Nancy and Karen just stared for a minute.
"Wow." Karen whispered, walking closer to them. Richie gazed at her, noting all the features he had. "Can I...Can I hug you?" She asked, shyly. He let go of Eddie's hand, and Mike nudged him, nodding to him slightly. Richie nodded to her and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He hugged her back, leaning down a bit. She was a whole head and a half shorter than him, so it was a bit awkward, but he found that all his nerves went away with her hug.
Holy shit, is this what it feels like to have a real mom? That actually gives a shit?
Just the thought brought tears to his eyes, but he held them back. Eventually, Karen pulled away, and Richie noticed that Eddie and Mike had joined El and Nancy in the kitchen, leaving the two standing in the doorway. Karen put her hands on either side of his face. She had a few tears running down her cheeks.
"I don't know what to say." She muttered.
"Me neither." He almost whispered. "That never happens." She chuckled, the smile on her face made him feel all warm and gushy on the inside.
What the hell, this is weird.
"Beautiful." She whispered. He almost didn't hear her, but he felt his cheeks warm up. "Nancy? Come meet your brother." She said, looking over her shoulder at Nancy, who stood from her seat next to El. She walked over to them, glancing back at Mike and then Richie a couple times. She held her hands up tentatively, silently asking for a hug. Karen moved out of the way and Richie hugged his sister. His big sister. It was weird to even think about, so he didn't. He just thought about the huge fluff of hair tickling nose as he hugged her back.
"This is insane." She mumbled, pulling away and looking up at him.
"No kidding." He agreed. He looked at El, and gave her a wave. She waved back, grinning at him.
"So!" Karen clapped her hands, wiping under her eyes. She turned to Eddie, who looked nervous now. She smiled at him. "You're Eddie, I'm assuming?" He nodded, smiling at her and holding a hand out.
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Wheeler."
"Call me Karen." She told him, grabbing his hand but pulling him into a hug. Richie snickered at the look on his face and Eddie flipped him off, but hugged her back.
"Where'd Jon go?" Mike asked, taking a bite out of a cookie. Karen glared at him, swatting at his arm.
"Those are for later, mister." She scolded and he snorted, stuffing the rest of it in his mouth before she could take it. She rolled her eyes.
"If you weren't so caught up in your fiance you'd know that he left ten minutes ago to go pick Holly and Nora up from Joyce and Hopper's house." Nancy told him, winking at El, who snorted. Mike scowled at her and flicked a crumb at her.
"I'm sorry that I love her sooo much!" He said, leaning down to kiss El sweetly on the mouth. She just rolled her eyes at him, patting his arm when he leaned back up.
"Why don't we all sit down while we wait for everyone to get here? Dad will be back soon." Karen told them, sitting down in one of the chairs. Everyone followed suit, Mike sitting next to El, then Nancy, Richie, and Eddie. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour or so."
"How are you two liking Hawkins so far?" Nancy asked.
"Well, people are a lot nicer here than in Derry, so I'm loving it so far." Eddie told her. Richie nodded in agreement.
"It's a lot better than Derry, Eds." Richie said, nudging him. Eddie glared at him for the nickname. "A lot quieter to say the least."
"Trust me, Hawkins isn't always quiet like this." Karen said. "Soon enough, college kids will be back and throwing parties with high schoolers again."
"Oh God, don't remind me." Mike whined, leaning forward and putting his forehead on the table. Karen rolled her eyes. "Hops gonna make me go deal with the little assholes and I've had enough of dealing with drunk teenagers."
"Drama queen." Nancy muttered and Mike flipped her off when Karen wasn't looking.
"I'm home!" A voice called, the slamming of a door following right after. Ted, Richie assumed, walked in holding a couple grocery bags. Mike stood up and took them from him wordlessly, putting them on the counter and emptying them before putting the drinks and the few other things away. Richie stood, still a bit nervous. Ted stared at him for a minute.
"Can you take your glasses off for a second, son?" He asked. Richie froze for a second at being called son, but did as he asked. "Wow, you two really are identical." He said, making a face. He gave Richie a small smile, and he almost laughed because of how weird it looked. Ted gave him a quick, awkward hug. "It's nice to have you home." He said, moving on to greet El, Nancy and Karen. He turned to Eddie, who stood and held out a hand.
"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Eddie, Richie's boyfriend." Ted shook his hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Eddie." He gave him a smile too. He patted Mike on the shoulder but didn't say anything to him. Mike just gave him a forced smile before turning back to the task at hand.
"I'm going to go wash up." Ted announced, leaving the kitchen to go upstairs. Richie sat down, burying his face in his hands.
"That was the most awkward I've ever felt in my life. And that's saying something." Eddie laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Hey!" Nancy said, nudging Richie, who looked at her. She held up her hand, showing black finger nails. "We match!" She giggled. He chuckled and high fived her. Karen smiled at the two.
"God damn it." Mike muttered, attempting to open a bag of...marshmallows. "Why can't I open things!" He whined, bringing it up to his mouth and ripping it open.
"You're gonna break a tooth one day, Mike, and you know how much you hate dentists." El told him, stealing the bag before he could even take one out. He glared at her playfully before plopping down in the seat next to her, taking one out of her hand and popping it in his mouth.
"I broke my front tooth a couple years ago. I used to open everything with my teeth." Richie said.
"It's true, he'd open bottles, chip bags, candy wrappers, anything he couldn't open with his hands."
"So everything. I was a weakling." Mike snorted at that.
"Do you remember that time El was over and Mike was trying to open a plastic bag?" Karen asked. "He couldn't get it open and El did."
"Mom! You said no embarrassing stories tonight." He whined.
"Your entire life has been embarrassing, Mike." Nancy said. He glared at her for a second then said,
"You know what, you're right." El held the bag out to Richie and Eddie.
"Want one?"
"No, thank you, though." Eddie said, while Richie stuck his hand in the bag and pulled a couple out, popping them in his mouth the same way Mike had. They heard the front door open again, followed by childish laughter. Only a minute later, Richie felt something on his leg and looked down, only to see a tiny blonde child clinging to his leg like her life depended on it.
"There is a child on my leg." He said simply, not knowing how to react.
"Mikey!" The little girl shrieked. Mike snorted loudly, and El giggled. Nancy chuckled, attempting to pry her tiny hands off of Richie's pants.
"Nora, Sweetie, that's not Mike." She told her, setting her in her lap. Lonora looked at her, confused. She pointed at him and said,
"Not Mikey?" Nancy shook her head.
"No, that's Richie. Mikey's right there." She pointed at Mike, and Lonora looked at him, eyes wide. She pointed to them as she said their names again, "Uncle Mikey, Uncle Richie." Lonora looked like her mind had been blown as she looked between the two of them.
"She's so confused." Jonathan said, chuckling as he and Holly appeared in the hallway.
"She's so cute." Eddie gushed, leaning over Richie and tickling her sides, making her giggle and fold into Nancy. Richie smiled at them.
"Holly?" Mike asked. Holly had been looking at him and Richie for a minute or so, not saying anything.
"This is weird." She said, finally. "Like impossibly weird. Do you two have like, twin telepathy or something? Why do you look exactly alike."
"That's what identical means, Holls. We're supposed to." Mike told her. She glared at him and walked over to Richie, leaning down and kissing him on the cheek. She patted his head.
"I like your hair. Can I braid it later?" She asked. He raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mike and Karen, who were both giggling at the question.
"Um, yeah?" She smiled, nodding, and then looked at Eddie. She waved at him shyly. He gave her a grin.
"Hi, I'm Eddie." He told her.
"Nice to meet you." She stuttered a bit. Mike coughed something out, and only El caught it. She burst out laughing, hiding her face in his shoulder.
"What's so funny?" Eddie asked, confused.
"I'll tell you later." El mouthed to him.