Random OneShots

What was pt.2

By: Wolfcry22 on Ao3

Reddie

~~~~~

Eddie made his way down the hallway and into the bathroom. He headed over to the sink before pushing slightly on the edge of the mirror. The mirror easily opened to reveal the tiny shelves behind it as well as numerous pill bottles and ointments. Eddie kept it well stocked for any type of medical emergency from burns to the common cold.

He scanned the different medicines before choosing a traditional liquid medicine. It worked quicker and may help alleviate Richie's cough and congestion quickly. He reached out his hand to grasp it as he turned to make his way out of the bathroom, shutting off the light behind him. Eddie stalked through the hallway to see Richie with his neck craned to the side and his mouth parted as he let out a soft snore.

Eddie couldn't help but chuckle as he thought back to the first dinner that they had when they met back up with the other Losers in Derry. Richie had been mocking his job and pretended to be asleep. Eddie had been more agitated than amused back then. Now, seeing Richie look the exact same for a very different reason caused Eddie to soften even more to Richie than he already had.

He made his way over and nudged Richie with the bottom of the liquid bottle. "Richie. Hey, Rich, wake up," Eddie whispered as he continued to nudge Richie.

Richie sucked in a harsh breath through his clogged nose before opening his eyes over to Eddie. "Hmmm, what did I miss," he asked, congestion making his voice almost impossible to make out.

Sympathy showed on Eddie's face as he began to pour the liquid medicine into the small cap. He handed it over to Richie. "Drink this and it'll make you feel better."

Richie took the small cap and rolled his wrist around, watching the sticky liquid slosh against the sides. He curled his lip in disgust as he brought it up to his mouth. He swallowed it down quickly, a shudder passing through him. "Yuck," he huffed with his face still screwed in disgust while his tongue was slightly stuck out.

"You might want to get used to it. You're going to take it every four hours," Eddie reminded him as he stretched out his hand and rested his hand on Richie's shoulder, rubbing the spot where Eddie knew that Richie kept most of his tension. Richie closed his eyes in enjoyment as he started to drift off thanks to Eddie's presence.

Eddie noticed a little too late that Richie was drifting off again. He quickly lifted his hand from it's restful position and tapped Richie's cheek. "Hey, there will be plenty of time for that when you get back to bed," Eddie chided as he moved to pull the blanket the rest of the way from Richie.

Richie started to shiver as he brought a hand up and ran it through his hair. "Oh, okay," he stammered, too tired to even think about arguing. He let out a few light coughs, quickly turning into a full fledged attack. He brought the back of his hand up to his mouth and coughed so harshly that it turned into a gag. Richie grimaced while bringing up a hand to his chest with a gnarled fist, trying to force the tension in his chest to loosen.

Eddie frowned, reaching over and helping Richie to his feet. "Come on. The sooner that you're in bed the better." He hated the sound of Richie's cough that seemed to tear from his throat and shred his lungs at the same time. It made Eddie shudder at how painful it had been. Colds had always seemed to target Richie's lungs and this one was no different.

"Everything alright," Richie asked when Eddie just stood without moving.

Eddie shook his head madly. "I should be asking you that. You're the one hacking up a lung," he shot back as he forced his feet to move with Richie beside him.

"That was nothing. I had bronchitis last year and I coughed so hard that I threw up," Richie replied as he sniffled, his nose almost completely blocked with congestion.

That certainly didn't make Eddie feel any better. He decided not to comment on it as he helped Richie the rest of the way back to their bedroom. Eddie turned on the light with Richie slightly squinting. "Are you sure that you want this, Eds? It's not too late to push me back on the couch."

"Shut up," Eddie murmured affectionately. He couldn't be angry with Richie, but he felt awful that he was the one who made Richie think that way. He forced himself not to say anything more as he allowed Richie to slump down on his side of the bed, hacking into the crook of his arm as he continued to sit upright.

Eddie came on his side of the bed and sat down, blinking his eyes as he waited patiently for the coughing to subside. Richie continued to cough while Eddie dragged himself forward and started to pound a bit on Richie's back with cupped hands. The coughing tampered off, but Eddie kept the slightly rigorous pounds continuing as worry overwhelmed him.

Richie slightly turned his head when he finished coughing while Eddie continued to pound on his back, jarring him with each pound. "Er, Eddie. I'm alright." He lifted his hands almost in surrender as if that would cause Eddie to go easier on him.

Eddie sat back as he lifted a hand to run his fingers through his hair in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I-I'm just worried," he confessed gravely.

Richie turned around to Eddie. A small smile showed on his face as he lifted his wrist to rub at the underside of his runny nose. "It's just a cold," Richie reminded him. "Nothing more....." He suddenly trailed off as he pitched to the side. "HrshsSHsH! Ugh!" He gave another wet sniffle before swallowing heavily. "Nothing less."

"It's just that....." Eddie trailed off as he looked down. "Nevermind."

Richie frowned as he turned with his legs almost brought up to his chest. "Talk to me. I want to know how you feel." He stretched out his hand and grasped Eddie's hand, rubbing his fingers against the back of Eddie's knuckles. He suddenly realized that it may not be the best decision to take Eddie's hand when Eddie was so paranoid about germs and all of that, but he hadn't been thinking straight when he did so. "Sorry."

Richie tried to pull back his hand, but Eddie suddenly reached out and grasped it back, giving it a heavy squeeze. "I just don't want to loose you and I remember my mother saying that every stupid cough or sneeze was going to kill me. I don't want to believe that and I know that it's not true. Why does my mind have to go there?"

"You're getting better. It's not going to happen overnight," Richie reminded. He then glanced down to where they were still holding hands. "But this proves that you're getting better. You would never have held my hand when I was sick before and now you are." He then turned as he sucked in another heavy breath. "HrshSHSH! HrchrsHsSH!"

"Bless you," Eddie offered.

Richie sniffled heavily, his eyes squinted. "Thanks. Do you think that maybe we could discuss this some other time seeing as though I need to be up in another four hours for another dose of that liquid medicine that tastes like ass, apparently?"

Eddie could respect that. He nodded as he reached to grab the remote for the lights and switched them off. He then shifted so that he was laying down while he patted the spot beside him for Richie. Richie didn't hesitate to lower down beside Eddie and instinctively tried to snuggle close to him.

Eddie didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around Richie and pull him close to him, pressing a kiss on Richie's head. He had lost enough time without Richie at his side to let a cold get in the way of anything. If anything, it made Eddie realize how much he cared for Richie. He cared for him enough to not let his past or present fears interrupt anything. He just couldn't let that happen.

He wrapped his arms around Richie and rested his head against Richie's shoulder. Richie let out an almost heavy murmur of enjoyment while tiredness overwhelmed him. It wasn't long before a few congested snores rose up from him and Eddie couldn't help but smile. Cold or no cold, he was with Richie until the end and nothing would stand in his way.