Author's note: I thought we needed a little bit of fluff between our boys to break up the seriousness of this story, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

The Space Between Us
Chapter 6 – A Thousand Years

"I'm afraid to go to sleep," Richie told Eddie later that night.

It was nearing midnight, and the doctor had suggested that Richie try and get some sleep, but Richie was adamantly opposed to the idea. He was obviously tired, because he kept yawning and rubbing at his eyes. His eyelids eventually started drooping too, but then he would force himself awake every time he started to doze. He would sit up a little bit straighter in his bed and open his eyes wide like Eddie could vaguely remember his father doing when he drifted off in front of the television.

The doctor had even tried to get Eddie to leave so that Richie could relax, but Richie was against that idea even more. Every time the doctor so much as suggested it, Richie would be on the edge of a panic attack, begging Eddie not to leave, because he didn't want to be left alone. He didn't want to be asleep, and defenseless, and alone if his attacker came back.

"I apparently couldn't even defend myself when I was awake," Richie muttered miserably, staring down at his lap. "They'll definitely kill me if I go to sleep."

"Nobody's going to kill you, Rich," Eddie said firmly. He so desperately wanted to brush his hand against Richie's forehead, to run his fingers through the strands of hair peeking out from underneath his bandages, but he stopped himself. "You're safe here."

Richie frowned deeply, and it looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn't. In the end, however, it seemed like he calmed down with Eddie's reassurances.

Doctor Reddy finally relented and allowed Eddie to stay put, although it was on the provision that Richie get some sleep. That, however, proved much easier said than done.

"What if I close my eyes," Richie said, staring at Eddie wide-eyed when they were alone, "and everything's different again when I wake up? What if I forget even more while I'm asleep?"

Eddie sat down in a chair at the edge of Richie's bed, taking Richie's hand in his own. Richie returned the gesture like he didn't want to let go, squeezing Eddie's hand ridiculously hard as if he seemed to think that Eddie might get up and leave.

"That won't happen," Eddie told him calmly. "The doctor said your memory's going to continue to improve now. You're only going to get better."

"What if they come and get me when I'm asleep?" Richie asked next, his eyes darting to the door like they did every time this subject was brought up. "I told you, if I couldn't defend myself when I was awake-"

"I won't let anyone in here," Eddie interrupted him, smiling. "And I can be pretty fucking brutal when I have to be, so you don't need to worry. All I need is a sharp object."

Richie's eyes seemed to widen and his mouth opened a bit. He frowned then, staring at Eddie for a long time. Eddie didn't say anything and didn't urge Richie on, because it felt like something, some buried memory might have been coming through in that moment. Richie closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, almost looking like he was in pain. When Richie opened his eyes again, recognition flashed there, and it was so wonderful to see that expression on Richie's features.

All at once, Richie brought up his hand towards Eddie's cheek, the one that was still clutched around Eddie's own. Richie lightly brushed the knuckles of his fingers across the scar on Eddie's cheek, and Eddie's heart fluttered at the touch. It was the most tender thing Richie had done since he'd woken up, and it gave Eddie just a little bit of hope that Richie's feelings for him were still in there somewhere. It took everything Eddie had to not close his eyes and lean into the touch he so longed for.

"That's where you got this," Richie said, as the backs of his fingers continued to graze across Eddie's scar. He let their hands drop back down to the mattress a moment later before he said, "Bowers was in your room at the inn and he stabbed you. And you pulled that knife out of your own face and showed him who the fucking boss was."

Eddie's eyes prickled with unshed tears all of a sudden, and he couldn't help the smile that spread across his lips. "Yeah," Eddie whispered. He let out a soft breath and brought his free hand up, pressing Richie's hand in between both of his. "See, you're already remembering things."

It only vaguely occurred to Eddie that he still had both his and Richie's wedding rings on his left hand. He couldn't bear to remove them now and he only hoped that Richie wouldn't notice. As it was, they both seemed too caught up in the fact that Richie was actually recalling new information. If Richie was already remembering stupid things like Eddie's confrontation with Bowers, then maybe it wouldn't be very long until he remembered that his relationship with Eddie went way beyond that of best friends. Maybe.

"Do you remember who else I fucking stabbed the shit out of?" Eddie asked hopefully, wondering if Richie was beginning to remember their last fight with Pennywise too.

Richie frowned in thought, staring down at his and Eddie's hands joined together. He shook his head a moment later and said, "I don't. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Eddie told him, rubbing the back of Richie's hand gently. "But rest assured that if anyone tries anything, I can hand their fucking ass to them, because I'm braver than I think."

Eddie had hoped that repeating Richie's own words might help to awaken something in Richie's memory too, but Richie only smiled at Eddie reassurances. Richie then let his head rest back against his pillow, that permanently confused and scared expression on his face seeming to soften. His eyelids drooped again, and this time, he did nothing to stop it. But then he asked, "You'll still be here when I wake up, right?"

"Absolutely," Eddie promised, giving Richie's hand a squeeze. "Unless I need to take a piss, but I'll come right back if I do."

"Okay," Richie mumbled, sleep clearly grabbing hold of him now. "Yeah, don't piss in here, 'cause I'm not cleaning up after your ass."

This made Eddie smile again, knowing that Richie still hadn't forgotten the way they teased and annoyed each other. Hadn't forgotten the entire basis of their relationship.

Richie still kept his eyes pinned on Eddie, holding his gaze until they closed completely. Eddie stayed still until Richie's breathing grew deep and even, signifying that he had finally drifted off. Eddie leaned over and pulled Richie's glasses off his face, quietly laying them on the bedside table. He then fished his cell phone out of his pocket, still keeping his right hand inside Richie's own.

Scrolling through his pictures, Eddie stopped when he got to their wedding photos. Because Bill had made him nostalgic for that day, and Eddie was a glutton for punishment. Eddie finally stopped when he got to the picture of himself and Richie on the beach afterwards, the one that they both decided was their favorite, and which now hung in their hallway at home.

Richie knew their wedding reception was supposed to be a party for their guests as much as for themselves, but he couldn't quite keep his hands off his husband. Even with their guests not far away, helping themselves to the buffet, Richie kept giving his husband kisses like he wouldn't have enough time to do so later.

Richie grinned as he pressed his hips into Eddie's, Eddie leaning back into railing of the deck that looked out over the ocean. It was the same spot where Richie had talked to Bill just fifteen hours previously, voicing his concerns, and now he was actually kissing his husband there.

His husband.

Eddie tightened his hands in the front of Richie's blue and yellow pineapple button-down shirt that Eddie had finally relented and let him wear. Since it had been a beach wedding, they had both opted for 'dressy but casual' as the dress code. Eddie was wearing a pair of khaki pants with a white button-down collared shirt. He had his sleeves rolled up to just above his elbows, and if that didn't make Richie go weak in his knees when he first saw him just before the ceremony. He loved when Eddie wore his shirts like that, because Eddie's forearms really fucking turned him for some reason.

Richie was wearing matching khaki pants, and Eddie had tried as hard as he could to at least get Richie to wear a solid-colored button-down shirt. Richie insisted that he needed to wear one of his trademark Hawaiian shirts, because it was a beach wedding, and it was perfect. Besides, it was Richie's aesthetic by now, and everyone would be expecting it.

He and Eddie had argued the point into the fucking ground until Richie said that he was going to show up in the nude if he couldn't wear a Hawaiian shirt. The expression on Eddie's face at that idea was almost comical, and Eddie had finally given in.

'All right, fine!' Eddie had yelled, burying his face in his hands. 'Wear the ugliest fucking shirt you can find! I don't care, but for the love of god, please don't come naked!'

'Like you'd actually complain about that,' Richie shot back, and if looks could kill, Eddie's would have struck him down.

Richie had taken Eddie's challenge seriously and had scoured the internet for the perfect shirt for his wedding. He finally settled on the one with pineapples, because it was his favorite fruit and to tie in with the beach theme. Richie thought it was perfect. Eddie, on the other hand, said that he hadn't meant for Richie to take his challenge to heart, but he had let Richie wear the 'horrendous abomination' anyway. In the end, Eddie said that once he saw how happy one little dumb ugly shirt had made Richie, it had been worth it.

"We're in public," Eddie muttered in between kisses, not bothering to try and push Richie away. "We have a whole hotel room upstairs waiting for us if that's what you're interested in."

"We can't skip out on own reception yet," Richie argued, kissing along Eddie's jaw now. "People are still eating, and we didn't dance yet, or cut the cake. Besides, everyone here knows how fucking head over heels I am for you by now, so why try to hide it?"

Eddie giggled, tilting his head away to give Richie better access. "Jesus," Eddie gasped, just as Richie began kissing at Eddie's neck. "We're not even going to make it upstairs at this rate."

"All right, all right," Beverly said from behind Richie, seeming to sense Eddie's trepidation. "Get a room, you two."

"We have one," Richie said, finally breaking from his kisses. He turned around to face Bev, but he still kept his arms around Eddie's waist. When Richie was situated behind Eddie, he leaned against the railing, allowing Eddie to rest his back against Richie's chest. "But you'd kill us if we left now. So here we are."

Eddie sighed, leaning his head back against Richie's shoulder, tucking his head into the crook of Richie's neck. Eddie let his hands come to rest over top of Richie's, clasping them tightly where they were wrapped around his waist.

Beverly then held up her camera, aiming it at them. "This is perfect," she said. "The setting sun and the ocean behind you."

Richie put on his best shit-eating grin, leaning his cheek against Eddie's hair as Beverly snapped the picture.

Even after she had disappeared back into the crowd, Richie and Eddie still didn't move from their position. Eddie kept leaning back against Richie's chest, his head pressed into the crook of Richie's neck and shoulder. Richie turned his left hand in Eddie's grasp, lacing their fingers together as he stared at the platinum and diamond wedding bands on their fingers, sparkling in the setting sun.

Richie didn't think he'd ever been happier.

"Maybe we should get something to eat," Eddie said then, twisting around in Richie's arms to glance up at him. "We're going to need our strength for tonight." He gently pulled out of Richie's hold, throwing a wink back over his shoulder as he made his way across the deck to the buffet table.

Richie followed, his shit-eating grin once again appearing across his lips.

When dinner had been cleared away and everyone had cups of coffee and tea set in front of them, Beverly made her way back up to the buffet table. She cleared her throat and waited until the conversations died down, and everyone was giving her their undivided attention.

"All right," she said loudly, so that everyone could hear her. "I just want to put it out there that I was the one who picked out Richie and Eddie's wedding song, and they both fought me tooth and nail on it. In the end though, they both gave in, because as our group of childhood friends can attest to, there's absolutely no denying that these two idiots have loved each other for what feels like a thousand years. And I know they'll love each other for a thousand more."

As the opening chords of 'A Thousand Years' by Christina Perri began to play, a gentle applause rippled through the crowd. Richie stood up from his chair and reached his hand out for Eddie's. When Eddie took it, Richie led him into the center of the deck, which had been left free of tables and chairs as a makeshift dance floor.

Richie turned around and wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Eddie's waist, pulling him close. Eddie went, letting out a soft breath as he rested his head against Richie's chest. Eddie snaked his arms around Richie's chest, hugging his close. They weren't so much as dancing as they were holding each other and swaying to the music, but they had never adhered to tradition to begin with, so they certainly weren't going to start now.

Leaning his head down, Richie placed a kiss on the top of Eddie's head, which caused him to look up into Richie's eyes. Eddie's brown eyes were large, and round, and shimmering with unshed tears which sparkled in the last rays of sunlight hitting them over the horizon.

"'I have loved you for a thousand years,'" Richie purposely sang off-key when it hit that part in the song. "'I'll love you for a thousand more.'"

That certainly didn't help Eddie's situation, because a few tears managed to escape his eyes at Richie's words. Eddie, however, was grinning, and Richie didn't think he had ever seen a smile that large and that happy on his husband's lips before. Ever.

His husband.

Eddie pushed himself up on tiptoes so that he could kiss Richie tenderly, letting his lips play across Richie's own. Richie tasted the salt from Eddie's tears, licking them from his lips when they pulled apart. Richie kissed the tip of Eddie's nose, causing Eddie to smile again. A moment later, he tucked his head back underneath Richie's chin, squeezing him tightly.

"I love you so much, Rich," Eddie whispered.

Richie knew that he would never forget the way Eddie looked up at him, the sun sparkling in his eyes. He could never forget the way Eddie felt in his arms, and just the simple fact that Eddie was his husband. Even if he did indeed get lucky enough to love Eddie for a thousand years.

Eddie was still holding Richie's hand tightly in one of his as he reached down to his lap to pick up his cell phone again. He was counting on the fact that Richie's painkillers had sufficiently knocked him out enough that Eddie wouldn't wake him with a little music. He quickly brought up their wedding song, but kept the volume low, letting it play as he rested his phone on the bed next to Richie.

"Remember this, Rich?" Eddie asked quietly, squeezing Richie's hand. "It was our wedding song." Eddie gasped in a quick breath after that, using every ounce of his willpower to keep from bursting into tears again. He closed his eyes against the feeling until it passed.

Even if Richie couldn't consciously hear the music, Eddie hoped that maybe his brain was still processing it somehow and that it would stir something deep inside his memory.

"We had our wedding on the beach in Santa Monica," Eddie told him, wanting to inundate Richie with as many memories of that day as he could while Richie was still asleep. "I found that really nice hotel not far from my work and when I showed you, you fell in love with it." Eddie snorted then before he added, "Although you said you'd marry me back in the fucking sewer if you had to."

Eddie brought Richie's hand up to his cheek, pressing the back of it against his skin. He turned his head and kissed the back of Richie's hand before he said, "It's going to be okay. I know you haven't forgotten about us, because Bill said it's basically impossible." Eddie forced out a laugh, letting his free hand brush up and down Richie's forearm, letting the hair there play against his fingers. "You can't forget about something that's been a part of you since you were thirteen."

Closing his eyes, Eddie continued his strokes across Richie's arm. "Please come back to me." He took a deep breath in order to quiet the sob that threatened to spill out of him. "I know you will though. You're going to get better," Eddie continued on, "and I'm going to be here for you every step of the way until you do." He pressed another kiss to Richie's hand before he added, "I know it's going to be hard, but you don't need to worry, okay? I'm going to help you, and I'm not going anywhere." He paused, but when it hit that particular line in the song, Eddie whispered, "'Darling, don't be afraid. I have loved you for a thousand years. I'll love you for a thousand more.'"

To be continued…

Author's note: 'A Thousand Years' was supposed to be my wedding song once upon a time, but that relationship turned into a dumpster fire. That pretty much ruined the song for me, but I still love it, and I wanted to make it better again, so it gets to be for these two idiots instead. And that's much better.