Random OneShots

Richie, the patient! Pt.4

By: ReddieFangirl on Ao3

Reddie

~~~~~

Hoping that Richie would at least get a good night's sleep, he woke up three times complaining about bad dreams and them vomiting into the toilet. All Eddie wanted was for this nightmare to be over. He wanted Richie to constantly annoy him and talk his ear off just like he always did. Richie was so sick that he couldn't utter a word. Seeing him look so down was the worst.
"Relax, Rich, you're getting it all out, just breathe," Eddie soothed, smoothing a hand over his back upon racing into the bathroom again. It was a quarter to three in the morning. After trying to breathe, Richie felt another round of bile in his throat. His whole body tensed making Eddie hold him tighter.

And then he let go.

Everything let go.

Oh no... shit.

Richie was beside himself with guilt and embarrassment as Eddie cleaned him up. Still terrified of the nightmare that he just had, and his fever making everything worse, Richie sobbed. Thick loud sobs that broke Eddie's heart to pieces.

Everything hurt. His stomach, his back, and his head. He also felt horrible because Eddie loyally stayed up to make sure that he had everything that he needed. Eddie already dealt with enough.

"Shh, sweetie, it was just an accident," Eddie reassured his boyfriend once he put on clean jammie bottoms and then tucked him back under the covers. "Take deep breaths. You're just sick."

"Sleep here?" Richie whimpered through the tears, grasping his hand. The face that he made at Eddie was so heartbreaking that he almost started to cry. "Please?"

Previously, Eddie went and slept on the couch, awakening to Richie's screams. That felt so wrong of him to do. Whenever he was sick Richie just flat out remarked that he didn't care and slept right next to Eddie making him feel safe.

Eddie rubbed a cold washcloth over Richie's face. Slowly, Richie's eyes began to close, staring up at his face to make sure that Eddie was there. "I'm here, Rich. And I am not going anywhere," Eddie assured him. And he did just that, watching him sleep.

The last time Eddie ever took care of someone was his mother when she was dying from liver cancer. He went with her to the hospital when the doctors told them the diagnosis. He agreed to let her stay with him and Myra because she couldn't take care of herself. While he helped her with medication, cleaned her, and stayed by her side when she was dying, Myra never did anything.

Quite ironic when she was a helicopter if he even dared as sniffled. Myra snapped into a frenzy, locking him in their bedroom and avoiding him. She kept him in there for a couple of days. Eddie would have escaped out the window, but he didn't. He wanted to.

It was so suffocating to live with Myra. After thinking about the fifteen years when they were together, Eddie had no idea how he got through it. Every night when they crawled into bed, Myra wrapped her arms around him so he wouldn't go anywhere. And the vile way she spoke to him.

These last six months with Richie were the best. Richie let him be his own person. He was patient. And he loved him. Eddie felt so free.

Without any fear, Eddie kissed Richie's sweaty forehead. He didn't even stir. Holding his hand, Eddie hadn't felt this way in a long time. Richie taught him that there was nothing to fear about germs. He was brought up to act like all germs were deadly, paralyzing him in sheer fear.

Getting into bed with his boyfriend, Eddie leaned his head in the crook of Richie's neck and wrapped an arm around his waist holding him close. Although he was asleep, Richie knew that he was there, smiling lightly. And that's what he was going to do. Protect his boyfriend.