reddie oneshots || fluff

53

3rd person POV

Richie ran downstairs and made his way to the front door, having to open it himself as he was home alone for the weekend. He assumed it was the postman, and was definitely not prepared when he opened the door to see Eddie almost in tears on the other side, arms littered with cuts and clutching tightly at his stomach, clothes dirty and torn.
"Eds? What-"
Eddie burst into tears and practically flung himself at the Richie, causing him to topple precariously before quickly wrapping his arms around Eddie's shaking body. Richie knew well enough to let Eddie calm down a little before bombarding him with questions, and he stuck his leg out to shut the door before leading them both into the front room.

Richie sat down on the sofa and motioned for the crying boy to sit next to him, which he did gladly.
"What the fuck happened?" Richie finally asked, the question eating away at him. Who would do this to Eddie? He realised the answer before it came.
"H-henry," Eddie sniffed, before fresh tears brimmed in his eyes and Richie furrowed his eyebrows in mixed sympathy for his best friend and anger at Henry Bowers, before opening his arms and enveloping Eddie once more.

Richie didn't ask any more questions, he didn't need to. Instead he comforted Eddie as best he could, gently tracing patterns onto his back as his sobs eventually ebbed into sniffles. Once sure the younger boy was calm again, Richie broke the silence.
"Looks like he got you pretty good, but I'll help fix ya up," He smirked, and Eddie lifted his head off of his chest to look up at him cynically.
"Yeah right," He said.
"C'mon, Doctor T. to the rescue!" Richie exclaimed, and practically beamed when Eddie laughed in response. The asthmatic boy got up, and waited in Richie's bedroom as he'd been instructed whilst Richie got the medical supplies out of his bathroom cabinet.

Once he was sure he had everything he needed, Richie ran back upstairs to where Eddie was sat on the bed. Eddie sat on one side so his legs were hanging over the edge, and Richie smiled reassuringly at him before opening the bag of supplies.
"This might sting a little," He warned, before taking hold of one of Eddie's arms and gently dabbing an antiseptic wipe across the cuts which Henry had been the cause of. Richie's mind clouded over with anger at the thought of what Henry must've done for Eddie to have ended up like this, but that fog lifted almost as soon as it had settled when Eddie winced slightly in pain. Richie met his gaze sympathetically.
"Sorry," He said, and made quick work of disinfecting the rest of the cuts as painlessly as possible along with two more on Eddie's knees he hadn't noticed earlier. Once satisfied, Richie stuck a few plasters over the deeper, more angry looking cuts and two over the scrapes on Eddie's knees before getting up off the floor with a triumphant smirk on his face.
"Told ya i'd fix you up," He said, and Eddie just rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself.
"Can I borrow some clothes please?" He asked.
"Sure,"

Richie picked out a hoodie and shorts for Eddie to wear, and changed into a similar hoodie but with pyjama pants instead of shorts whilst the shorter boy was changing in the toilet.
"Do you wanna stay the night? It's kinda late for you to be walking back by yourself," Richie asked when Eddie re-entered the room, fiddling with the sleeve of his sweater.
"Uhh..." Eddie looked outside at the dark sky, and then at the clock on Richie's wall which told him it was already ten p.m., before turning back to Richie. "Sure, if that's alright,"
"Course," Richie smiled.

Richie went to brush his teeth (Eddie having already done so when he changed), and when he returned he saw Eddie had made himself a makeshift bed on the floor with blankets and a spare pillow from Richie's cupboard.
"Wanna sleep now? You're probably pretty worn out after today," Richie asked, hoping it didn't come off as rude.
"Yeah," Eddie responded, and smiled up at the brunette, "Thanks for... everything, I feel a lot better. Goodnight Rich," He said, and Richie returned the smile.
"Night Spaghetti," He replied, before switching off the light.

There was about fifteen minutes of silence, Richie focusing on every inhale and exhale Eddie made to try and force himself to sleep. Nothing seemed to work. As for Eddie, every time he built up enough courage to close his eyes the horrifying image of Henry Bowers, pocket knife and all, floated into the back of his vision and he was forced to snap them open once more. Because of this, he tossed and turned relentlessly underneath the blanket. In all honesty, Richie's floor definitely wasn't the most comfortable place he'd ever slept. After listening to Eddie shifting around for about five minutes, Richie decided to say something.
"You okay?" He asked, and Eddie froze.
"Oh, uhh- yeah, I guess. Just still a bit jumpy from earlier,"
Eddie heard the duvet rustle, and suddenly Richie's head appeared over the side of the bed.
"Wanna come sleep here?" He asked. Eddie considered it. C'mon, was it even really a question?

The asthmatic boy stood without a word, making his way over to Richie's bed and getting in one side. He turned so his back was facing Richie, and tried his best to stay still. The tension was so thick it was almost unbearable, until Richie reached out and wrapped his arms underneath Eddie's arms and around his waist, pulling him onto his chest.
"I meant here," He said softly, hot breath sending shivers down Eddie's spine.
"O-Okay," Eddie stuttered, but immediately cursed himself in his head for sounding like such a baby. Determined to prove he wasn't one, he adjusted his position so one of his legs crossed over both of Richie's and his head rested underneath the taller boy's chin, before wrapping his arms around Richie's back. Richie smiled although Eddie couldn't see it in the dim light and stroked his hand up and down Eddie's back. Eddie sighed happily and allowed his eyes to shut once more, this time unbothered by unwanted visions, Richie's heartbeat lulling him to sleep.

_________________

request from Haley160

:))