𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄, 𝐆𝐎𝐍𝐄 / 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐊 𝐘𝐎𝐔

ᴛʀᴇᴄᴇ

After the night at the quarry, it's like some kind of unseen, unspoken barrier has been broken down between them.

Richie is a little embarrassed, even the next day, when he wakes up with his hand clutching Eddie's shirt, like he was desperate to pull him closer in the middle of the night, but some lingering doubt in his subconscious kept him from doing anything more. He's not one for crying- not that there's anything wrong with it- it's just not him. Yeah, he can get pretty emotional, just like anyone else, but the people who can bring that out in him are far and few in between, and the last time he let himself breakdown at all was last year, a month or so after finding Stan. He curled up in his bed and let some of the pressure off the volcano brewing just under his skin, weeping like a little kid into his pillow, keeping as quiet as possible so his mom and dad wouldn't hear him. He's not sure what his dad would say, but his mom probably wouldn't have cared.

Crying in front of Eddie was entirely different. He's a little surprised Eddie held him for as long as he did, when he could have left at any time. But Eddie is a good person- he'd never leave anyone out to be alone, or in pain, not when he can do someting about it. The whole ordeal makes Richie fall a little more in love with him, and he just can't help himself around him even more than he couldn't before.

Later that day, Thursday, between second and third period, he heads off after class quickly to catch Eddie at his locker, where he usually is at this time, chatting with Stan and exchanging his things for his next class. Richie's mind is on the concert coming up on Saturday, and how much time he's going to have alone with Eddie, and he means to ask Eddie what time they should get going, and if he has a newer map they can use, since his is covered in melted jolly ranchers from a pack he left in his glove compartment all summer. But when he spots Eddie, nodding happily and smiling, talking quickly with Stan, his mind goes off in another direction and he doesn't remember what he was going to talk to him about. He saw Eddie earlier- slept next to him, woke up next to him, watched him sleep for a good ten or fifteen minutes until he was pushing it time-wise and had to start getting ready for school- but it doesn't seem to matter that it's only been a couple hours.

Richie goes to him, quietly approaching him from behind, and he grabs Eddie around the waist, lifting him off his feet and spinning him in a circle. Eddie yelps and swats at him, chastising Richie and demanding to be put down, but Richie just keeps smiling, because while Eddie always looks adorable when he's irritated, he can see the grin attempting to fight through the scowl Eddie seems determined to keep, and he knows Eddie isn't pissed at him for being a complete moron. Stan rolls his eyes before he walks away, but Richie doesn't care, and doesn't follow him right away to their next class. He lingers with Eddie, and it's like the fucking clouds part and someone switches out the black and white screen to full color for the rest of the day.

After school Eddie tells him he has to go to the library, and that he'll be getting off later, because apparently, since he's trained to shut down at the end of the day, he needs to fill in for Mrs. Starrett, who is gone for the next week for a family emergency in Manhatten.

"I'll probably be off around nine, or a little later," Eddie tells him, one foot out of the car. "So, uh, if you mind, I can walk home. But, if you don't..."

"I'll be here at nine," Richie cuts him off, and his insides flutter at the relieved and grateful smile Eddie gives him.

Closing down is boring; there's paperwork, files to be checked, old books to be stored away in the creepy basement, ruined books to be dealt with, but Eddie handles everything quickly and efficiently. Richie gets him home a little before ten, and has enough time to mess around on his guitar when he gets home before getting into bed. He plays some chords, plucking out a five note melody that comes to him as he lays back against the headboard and envisions Eddie's shy smile, and his big, innocent eyes, his tempting, soft-looking mouth, and his warm, comfortable embrace.