it au | richie & eddie hallmark christmas movie au
Eddie was ranting on the phone to his poor assistant (she really did deserve a good holiday bonus for dealing with his shit, he'd have to talk to accounting about that), when he took his green juice and hopped into line behind what must be the set up for a poor joke—a man in a Santa suit.
The man turned over his shoulder to give him what Eddie assumed would be a you're being rude please stop ranting in this check out line look but ended up just being a soft chuckle and toothy smile.
"What the fuck are you looking at?" Eddie’s brows scrunched together. His assistant went into a flurry over the other end. "No, not you Bethany. I'll see you in a few minutes. Have the numbers ready when I get there."
"You know it's like..." The Santa looked down at his wrist, but there was no watch there. "T-minus eight days until Christmas. You're legally required to be happier than this."
"You wouldn't even be able to tell that from a fucking wrist watch, and I don't need some knock-off Santa telling me how to live my life. What? I need to acknowledge the magic of the holidays? Feel the Christmas spirit? Fuck off."
"Excuse me, my company goes all out. I'm not a knock-off, this suit is very expensive I assure you." His smile had only gotten larger, which was eating away at Eddie's energy. The line pushed forward, but Santa did not seem to notice. "You're fun."
"No one has used that word for me in a long time. Now move up, asshole."
His eyes honest to god sparkled. "Fun," he repeated before turning around.
Soon the checkout line sped up, and Santa thankfully disappeared as Eddie bought his makeshift breakfast. He checked his phone and cursed under his breath when he noticed the time. As he exited the store, he heard an annoyingly familiar voice call out, "Hey!"
He turned. Eddie did not know what he did to deserve this asshole chasing after him, but he's sure it was something catastrophic in a past life. Fuck past life Eddie.
"Please go away," Eddie called, but a second later the man was walking in line with him. His longer legs had made it easy to catch up. "I don't know you. This is creepy."
"Name is Richie," he offered, holding out his hand. Eddie eyed it was a scowl and did not take it; it wasn't like he knew where that thing had been. "Yours?"
"I don't know you,” he repeated.
"How can you get to know someone if you don't let them introduce themselves?"
Eddie couldn't fault that logic. He stopped near the curb, waiting for his car to circle the block and pick him up, when he finally turned to give Richie a proper look. “Eddie, but I’m not shaking your hand.”
Richie smiled and held up his hands to the side. “I’ll try to not even be offended by it, Eds.”
🎅🎄When uptight, workaholic Eddie Kaspbrak meets Richie Tozier—a holiday Santa with an exuberance for life and a surplus of energy—he’s sure it’s a one time thing. Except the problem is they keep running into each other, and Richie has a chip on his shoulder to make Eddie enjoy the holidays in a way he never has before. If Richie can make it happen, it really would be a Christmas miracle.
