ethereal : it oneshots

emergency

when richie came home from work that night, he had been so tired that he hadn't registered that he was home yet.

it had been a long day. richie had sent several ambulances to car accidents, and had told multiple people that their lives problems were not emergencies. more importantly, though, he'd comforted a young child whose parents had just been killed. the child, luckily, was saved, but it had put a strain on richie's mind for the rest of the day.

as he opened his front door, he felt the same as he did taking his lunches, dreadfully unprepared for the rest of the day. that sorta tipped richie off to the fact that he should go to sleep.

as he brushed his teeth, he felt sick, and he thought about yanking each of his teeth out one by one. he didn't, of course, but he did consider it for the briefest of moments.

he checked his phone as he changed into his pajamas, only to see that his friends had texted him throughout the day. he had a complicated relationship with his friends.

his job had seemed to dull him to caring about most things. to survive, he found both him and his coworkers had to be more objective than emotional. don't get him wrong, richie liked his friends, but he was sorta apathetic at the notion of being a good friend.

mostly, anyway. he glanced to beverly's text, do u wna go out on tue :D i'm thinking karaoke. he hadn't gone out with beverly in a long time. truth be told, he hadn't gone out with anyone besides stanley in a long time.

stanley just was different. stanley thawed richie's apathy.

richie didn't text beverly back. instead, he turned to bill's text, hey have u talked to eds? he was wondering how u were doing. me too. how r u? at that, richie turned his phone off.

he missed stanley. he wanted him here with him.

but soon, richie was lying down in his bed, and he zoned out watching the ceiling. he forgot where he was. soon, he felt back at work, on the phone, telling them softly, "please just stay on the line," drumming his fingers on the desk.

his phone buzzed. he picked it up, still not quite conscious.

"911, what's your emergency?" richie mumbled, hearing a laugh from the other end. he realized that he had no idea who he'd picked up on. he made a silent prayer that it was one person.

"tough work day?" stanley's voice rang through, and richie was thankful. if it had been anyone else, he would have just hung up.

"sorry." richie wasn't entirely sorry, but he knew how to behave like a normal person. "hi stan."

"hi richie. i miss you." stanley said, and richie noticed the turn signal clicking in the background. was stanley in the car?

richie shuffled in his bed, thinking about stanley in his arms. the two of them weren't actively dating as far as any of his friends knew. but the two of them had a relationship unlike the rest of them. in anyone's car, the two sat in the back, never taking the passenger seat just so they could sit together in the back seat.

the two shared countless amounts of affection without ever telling anyone.

"i miss you too. yeah, work was terrible. always is. thanks for calling." richie replied, turning over to his side. he heard the indicator cancel itself and click off. richie blinked tears out of his eyes.

"i'm on my way, by the way. i hope that's okay," stanley said, confirming richie's suspicion. richie smiled the most that he could (not that that was much).

"that's so okay. stanley, i have an odd request when you get here." richie replied, rubbing his eyes. he wasn't particularly any more awake than when he had picked up, so his following words were not something he might say on any other day.

"yeah? what's that?" stanley said. richie knew he would probably do anything richie asked of him. stanley was kind and selfless like that.

"can i kiss you? when you get here? i don't mean to sound like i'm using you, i just think it might make me feel a little more human. to pretend we're in love."

"oh. yeah. i am in love with you, though." stanley said it objectively, like it was known fact. in a weird way, richie realized, it sort of was.

"yeah, yeah, i'm in love with you too." richie brushed it off, "but we're not in love. but we could pretend. can we pretend?" it was complicated.

"yeah, rich."

"thanks, stan, i'll see you soon?"

"yup."

richie then had nothing to do but wait around, so he lied down on the couch, and turned the television on. in richie's opinion, it was probably very clear to anyone around them that stanley and richie loved each other.

but they weren't in love together. they could've been, maybe, if someone had done something earlier, but now it felt as though the two of them were simply doomed to love each other and be lonely until they died.

a knock sounded on the door, and richie would have scrambled off of his couch if he'd had the energy. instead, he got up slowly, supporting himself on his arms as he arched upwards.

he opened his front door, and there stood beautiful stanley. briefly, richie thought i'd do anything for you, but the thought was interrupted by stanley gently walking past him.

"hi. you wanna tell me about what happened at work?" stanley asked, so casual as he slowly untied his shoes. stanley was the only person richie knew who took the time to tie and untie his shoes.

"no." richie's answer was always the same, but stanley always asked. "thank you, um, for always making me feel human again."

stanley cradled richie's head in his hands. his thumb stroked richie's cheek, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. "always, rich."

richie couldn't help himself, and he leaned forward to kiss stanley. stanley didn't complain, pulling richie closer to him.

this wasn't their first time kissing; many drunk parties and some sober early mornings had resulted in them kissing several times. but this time, richie had admitted (if not glossed over) that he loved stanley. so maybe it was different.

they broke away, and richie felt tears in his eyes. his nose felt sensitive suddenly, and he sniffled as stanley pulled him into a hug.

"i want to try this. us. i know we don't have a lot of time together, but i want to try us... being in love. is that okay?"

fuck being too late.

"of course it is." stanley's voice was soft, and richie felt just a little more normal. maybe he could feel.

"okay. i love you." richie mumbled into stanley's neck. stanley leaned his head onto richie's.

"i love you too."