INSTANT REPLAY | REDDIE

- 18 | INSTANT REPLAY

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"But Eddie, you promised!" Richie whined, tugging on his friend's sleeve as they walked through the hallways. Eddie rolled his eyes, tugging his arm away and ducking around a corner in an attempt to lose the persistent boy, but he was still there moments later.

"Yeah, I promised that like, a full day ago. People change." He shrugged, pursing his lips and speeding up his pace only to feel a gentle hand close around his arm and drag him in the other direction.

"I know you want me to be patient, but I think it's only fair that I hold you to your promises. Progress, my dear Spaghetti, is key." Richie chuckled soft, pulling Eddie under the stairs with little difficulty. Eddie tried to be annoyed, but it was getting harder and harder to be angry with Richie's antics when he looked so happy doing them.

"Remind me what I promised you again?" He asked teasingly, drawing his lower lip into his mouth and looking down as Richie pressed close, trapping him against the wall. His breath hitched as a hand touched his waist, and he tilted his head back slightly, finally meeting his partner's eyes.

"You promised me we could talk about making this official," Richie murmured, his lips hovering dangerously close to Eddie's. "I wanna be the only one who can get away with stuff like this.." His lips grazed against Eddie's, and the smaller boy gasped at the contact, barely keeping himself from chasing after it.

"I dunno, Rich," he mumbled softly, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Greta was a pretty good kisser at that party last week, maybe I changed my mind about he—" He was cut off by the firm pressure he had been hoping for, the feeling he had been starved of ever since the first one at the party. Sighing softly, he settled back into it, enjoying the rough and chapped feeling of Richie's lips against his own.

"I'd like to think I'm a better kisser," Richie murmured against Eddie's lips, hands sliding from his waist up his sides, and then back down to his hips where he dug his thumbs into the hollows, which drew a shudder out of his friend. He bit down on Eddie's lower lip cautiously, drawing it back and then crushing their lips together a bit more forcefully. Eddie moaned at the feeling— It was a tiny one, but it was there, and if that didn't pat Richie's ego on the back...

"Stand down, tiger," Eddie gasped, pulling away for breath. Even in the dim light, Richie could see how red his face was. Pride swelled up in his chest, but instead of kissing him again he pulled the smaller boy into a hug, burying his face in the boy's hair.

"I love you." It slipped out again, and Richie silently cursed himself. Eddie didn't like it when he said that. He started to pull away and apologize, but Eddie hugged back, clinging on fiercely.

"I really like you, Richie," The boy whispered in return. It was enough for him, and it certainly had him flustered. Richie could feel his face as it started to heat up and his heartbeat picked up its pace. "I really like you, and if it's alright, I'd like to consider myself your maybe kinda possibly boyfriend?" Richie's breath hitched at the question, and he was pretty sure he felt tears filling his eyes.

"Yeah," he managed to choke out, but it was barely audible. He sniffled a little bit, and tried again, ignoring the hot liquid rolling down his cheeks. "Yeah, that's alright, absolutely."

"Are you crying?" Eddie cooed softly, pulling away and peering at his face. Richie turned his head away in slight embarrassment, but Eddie settled into 'Best Friend Mode' and wiped his face briskly, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "Don't cry, Rich. I'm sorry it took this long." He hugged him again, stroking his curls gently.

"It's okay," Richie whispered shakily. "It's okay, Eddie. I would wait forever." Eddie's heart fluttered at that, and he wondered what it would feel like to say the dangerous three words that Richie always said to him. Was it true? Of course, he loved Richie. Richie was his best friend. But did he love Richie as a romantic partner? He realized that if he even had to ask himself this question then the answer was probably no. But the thought made his heart ache. Not with guilt, exactly, but with sadness. He wanted to love Richie, no matter how scary it was to think about it. He really wanted to love him.

"Richie," he said in a hushed voice, pulling away softly. Their lunch period was almost over. Richie hummed softly in response, eyes fluttering opened. Eddie pulled the boy's glasses off, tucking them in his fanny pack. Richie watched silently, and in slight confusion as Eddie shuffled his feet anxiously, averting his eyes.

"I really, really want to say something to you," he confessed, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat. "I really want you to know, 'Chee, that it doesn't matter how scary it is anymore because it's the truth, and I don't want to be a living breathing lie. It doesn't matter if it keeps me up at night, because it matters to you, I can tell, and it matters to me a lot, too. It doesn't matter if other people don't like it, or if they wish they could have it, because it's going to be ours. Get it? Ours." Eddie raised his eyebrows, and Richie nodded slowly, holding his gaze. Eddie took a deep breath.

"I love you," he stated clearly, truthfully. "I love you is going to be ours, forever. Okay?" Richie nodded vigorously, and Eddie saw with some alarm that his eyes were getting watery again. He stood on his tiptoes and pulled his partner down into a soft, gentle kiss that said everything he could have possibly wanted to say.

"I love you," he said again, as if confirming it for himself, too. It was something he could say now. "I love you like I've never loved anyone before."

"I love you, too," Richie whispered, resting his forehead against Eddie's. "I have for a while, and I will forever."

"I want to tell my mom." Eddie stated this firmly, ignoring the terror and alarms that began blaring in his head at the thought of the woman. He tugged on Richie a little bit, and the boy kissed them away one by one. "I want to tell her," he said again. "If you think that's okay."

"Whatever you desire, my Spaghetti," Richie replied warmly, and Eddie found himself blushing lightly just from the way his boyfriend (his heart beat a little faster just at the word) was looking at him.

"I might get kicked out. If I do, I'll go to Stan," Eddie told him, trying to keep the water out of his voice when he mentioned the possibility of getting kicked out. He swallowed with some difficulty, and tried again. "I'll go to Stan's cause I know you guys don't have room for anyone else and I'm not going to make you share a room with me because I'll just try to organize your chaos and you'll freak. Stan already offered at the hospital, so I should be okay. I'll talk to him about it after school."

"Whatever you want," Richie repeated, brushing Eddie's cheek gently as if he might break.

"Whatever you need."