Maybe It Slipped
Written by @eddieneedshisinhaler
Gift for @richiehearteyestozier
Pairing: Richie Tozier x Eddie Kaspbrak
Word count: 1400
Rating: T
AO3 Link
A/N : so this is a thing! this was my first content exchange and i had a really fun time writing this, this is my first finished fic for the it fandom and im really excited to gift this to molly. not exactly what u asked for but i hope u like it nonetheless!
Summary: Richie felt like it should have been more embarrassing, admitting how much he loved Eddie, but it also seemed like just another truth of the world. The sky was blue, the grass was green, there was a killer clown living in the Derry sewer system, and Richie loved Eddie. That startling clarity, that hyperaware sense of self did not, however, make it any easier for anyone involved.
Eddie slapped at his arm.
Once class was over, the two started their conversation up again.
“But I’m serious, Eduardo, I can’t waste Halloween. This is our last one before high school and I just wanna spend it with my,” Richie choked, his eyes flashing to Eddie. “You,” he finished lamely as they loaded his books into Eddie’s locker.
“It’s this week, right? I’ll have to come up with something to tell my mom, but I don’t see why we can’t,” Eddie shrugged, missing the flash of excitement on Richie’s face when he closed the door and spun the lock a few times.
The day of Halloween, Richie was pretty fuckin’ excited for Eddie to come over. He had a sheet hanging from the top bunk of his bed over the bottom, the easiest fort imaginable and he was standing by it, Eddie, it’s perfect. Along with that, Richie had also dug out a few strings of Christmas lights to hang up around the bottom bed, knowing they - the two crybabies that they were - would need some light source if a movie had even the slightest jumpscare.
Speaking of movies, Richie was in awe of the great horror movies he’d picked out for the evening. Amidst the horror classics like Poltergeist and Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there were a few silly movies like Beetlejuice and The Man with Two Brains. Not a shabby collection, if Richie said so himself, because he had to beg his older sister to rent them from Blockbuster. He even went so far as to get Eddie’s favorite candies, spending so much on Twizzlers and black licorice that he mentioned buying stock to his parents when they asked.
But, let’s be honest, no matter just how prepared Richie felt in the literal sense, he was still (mentally) shitting his fucking pants because Eddie fuckin’ Kaspbrak was coming to watch movies and hopefully stay the night and Richie was in panic mode, ladies, this is not a drill.
See, if someone had told Richie he’d realize one sweaty summer afternoon at the end of June that he had a massive crush on aforementioned Loser, he’d have laughed and made a few ‘your mom’ jokes to deflect, and only at three in the morning would he be willing to analyze every interaction he’s ever had with Eddie ever. That was just a whole can of worms that could not be dealt with.
But it was not June anymore, it’s October and he loved his best friend with every fiber of his being. That was a can of worms that had been opened and dealt with, and yeah, it was super fucking scary to be gay in Derry, but how could the way he felt about Eddie be wrong?
Richie felt like it should have been more embarrassing, admitting how much he loved Eddie, but it also felt like just another truth of the world. The sky was blue, the grass was green, there was a killer clown living in the Derry sewer system, and Richie loved Eddie. That startling clarity, that hyperaware sense of self did not, however, make it any easier for anyone involved.
Because of course Richie was going to be a little shit to Eddie once he realized he was well and truly ass over tits for the kid, and he deliberately made their interactions so much more annoying than Eddie could ever expect. Now it’s not like he wanted his little hypochondriac darling to hate him, Richie more so just wanted to make sure all of Eddie’s attention was on Richie at all times.
In Richie’s own defence, the voice in his head was always trying to make sure Eddie was always looking at him. It honestly and truthfully felt like if his eyes weren’t on Richie for even a second, that Trashmouth himself would cease to exist.
Okay, so maybe he was dramatic and over exaggerating and also completely off track, but whatever. It was Halloween and he was freaking out.
“It’s just Eddie,” Richie said when his alarm went off.
“It’s just a friendly hang out,” he thought as he rode his bike to school alongside Eddie.
“Totally platonic,” when Eddie had whacked his arm and leaned against Richie after the latter delivered a wicked punchline.
“Nothing to read into,” as Eddie kept glancing over to him in Physics, his doe eyes shining under the flickering fluorescent lights.
(Towards the end of the day, Richie had almost stopped believing himself when Eddie kept brushing his shoulder against Richie’s in the library. (But then Bowers walked in and Eddie disappeared down a random row of books.))
It wasn’t until after school and the two were walking their bikes home side by side that Richie let himself steal glances, and his eyes followed the sweat that beaded at Eddie’s forehead and slowly slipped down his cheek before Eddie swiped it away. He turned away quickly when his friend looked over at him and grinned.
“So what movies did you get? If I have to watch Charlie fucking Brown’s Halloween special again I’m gonna fuckin’ lose it, Rich,” Eddie babbled, waving his free hand around and bumping into Richie every so often.
“I had to say we have a project in English that’s due tomorrow like I said earlier, so we might have to tell her details about this fake project on Saturday when you come over. You’re still coming, right? I finished our hats and you still have those joke mustaches, right? We’ll be the best Mario and Luigi,” he finished, somehow managing to not be out of breath.
Richie grinned and took his chance.
“Oh I’ll be coming alright, Eds, coming ten inches deep in your mom!” and then he was hopping up onto his bike, and Richie started pedaling as fast as his chicken legs can.
“Richie, you motherfucker!”
“That’s the point, Spaghetti,” Richie called back as he slowed to wait for Eddie by a stop sign, and his friend’s shorter (I’m still growing, asshole!) legs worked hard to get him to Richie.
“You’re such a dick, you know that? What is with you, you stupid fuck, we can’t even have a nice, civil conversation without you pissing all over it with your nasty jokes,” Eddie had a flush high in his freckled cheeks, and his mouth ran a mile a minute while he insulted Richie as much as he could.
“Eddie, my sweet, I have to keep you on your toes somehow,” he winked, seeing Eddie’s flush travel down his neck and under his polo; a place Richie couldn’t see.
He gulped and looked away, not seeing the way Eddie tracked the beginnings of an adam’s apple on Richie’s throat move up and down. The two stood at the stop sign, stuck in the moment, air sticky with words they couldn’t stay.
A passing car with the driver laying on their horn broke the moment, the two boys starting to pedal towards Richie’s house in silence. Eddie tried to speak, but his voice cracked and he turned even redder. He cleared his throat and tried again.
“So what movies did you pick out?”