Demon 🔥 Reddie

17

Ben and Mike went inside to get food for Richie and Eddie, since Eddie was complaining and Richie said he'd rather eat than sit and do nothing.

Eddie was still pouting on the rafters, partially because he was still annoyed but mainly because Richie was ignoring him. He didn't know why he wanted Richie's attention; sure he'd liked kissing Richie but there was another emotion there. It wasn't just happiness.

"Richie," Eddie whined after twenty minutes of being ignored. "Pay attention to me!"

"You're hiding up in the rafters, Eds. If you want attention, come down here," Richie said, scrolling through his feed.

Eddie glared at Richie but jumped off the rafters and landed next to Richie. He cuddled into Richie's side, closing his eyes contently.

Richie chuckled at the affection and put his phone down. He pulled Eddie into his lap and Eddie smiled, laying his head on Richie's chest.

"What emotion are you feeling right now?" Eddie asked, looking up at Richie with confusion written all over his face.

Richie blushed. "Uh, happiness?"

"No, it's not that," Eddie said, sitting up and running his thumb along Richie's jaw. "It's something else. Like happiness, but stronger."

"Maybe I'm just horny, Eds. Who knows?" Richie asked with a nervous laugh, still blushing furiously.

Eddie rolled his eyes. "If you were feeling lust, I wouldn't be sitting in your lap, Richie," he said, running his hand through Richie's hair. "What is it?"

Richie didn't want to tell the demon that he may have been falling in love. He didn't think Eddie would understand, and even if he did, he might freak out and push Richie over the edge of something again.

Thankfully, Richie was saved by the barn door opening and Mike and Ben walking inside with a tray of food. They made their way up to the loft and Eddie reluctantly got off of Richie. The pair handed Eddie some raw meat, due to Richie's request for him, whereas they had sandwiches for the rest of them.

Eddie accepted what he was given, thanking Mike in a small voice before flying up to the rafters to eat. Richie didn't pay any mind to Eddie's tendencies and ate with the other two.

"Damn, Mike. If I'd known you were this good of a cook, I would've come out here years ago!" Richie exclaimed, his mouth full of food.

Mike laughed. "I'll tell my grandma you like it," he said, leaning against the wall. "Do you have a plan?"

"Nope."

"Are you trying to come up with one?"

Richie smirked. "You've only known me for a couple of hours, but come on Mikey. Do I seem like the kind of person that makes plans?"

Mike shrugged and looked over to Ben, who returned a similar expression. They all sat and chatted until Eddie came down from the rafters and sat next to Richie, leaning into him. Richie didn't hesitate to wrap an arm around Eddie, continuing his conversation.

After an hour, the rest of the losers club came running through the door, closing it behind them. They were holding a box and a key, running up to the loft.

"What's that?" Richie asked in a quiet voice. Eddie had fallen asleep and was laying his head in Richie's lap, so Richie was trying not to wake him up.

"Sonia Kaspbrack. She told us that Eddie's dad left it behind for him," Bev said, holding the box out to Richie. "We didn't open it, but Eddie needs to so we can figure out what to do."

Richie nodded and ran his fingers through Eddie's hair, coaxing him awake. His eyes fluttered open and he curled in on himself, noticing that there was a group of people watching him.

"What's going on?" Eddie asked as he looked around nervously at the group.

"Nothing bad," Richie said with a smile as he helped Eddie sit up. "Bev?"

Bev handed Eddie the box and explained what his mother had said. Eddie looked guilty, realizing his mother had been trying to protect him, and opened the box cautiously. As soon as it was open, Eddie's eyes filled with angry fire and tears at the same time.

Without saying anything, Eddie closed the box and threw it away from himself before spreading his wings and flying too the highest point in the barn. No one, not even Richie, could get him to fly down.

Richie walked over and picked up the box, opening it and pulling out the object that had made Eddie cry and rage at the same time. It looked like a glass charm on a metal chain, but it was strange. There was a sharp glass point at the end, causing Richie to scrunch up his face in confusion.

"Wait, I've seen that before," Mike said, taking it from Richie. "My great grandpa wrote about it."

Mike vanished from the barn and reappeared with a black journal. He opened it and they saw all of the information his grandfather had on demons. On one of the pages laid a messily scribbled image, matching the glass necklace in Mike's hand.

"It's a containment device," Mike said, looking at it. "If a demon is weak, they can befriend a human and use them as a host. When the human doesn't want to be possessed, they can use this device to pull the demon out of them and re-inject the demon when they need the power. It's kind of a two way relationship."

"How is that beneficial to Eddie, though? He's not possessed. He's part demon!" Richie exclaimed, glancing up at Eddie who was still glaring down at them, looking pissed off and defensive.

"Maybe it can remove the demon aspects and leave him human?" Ben asked, taking the journal and reading through the facts on the containment device.

"He doesn't know how to be just human!" Richie exclaimed. "It's part of who he is!"

"Removing it could keep him safe, though."

"If it really could keep him safe, why didn't his mom just use it on him when he was born?" Richie asked, arms crossed and jaw clenched.

"Sh-she probably d-didn't know its use. Ed-Eddie's dad l-left it for him," Bill said, taking the device and turning it over in his hand.

Eddie growled from up in the rafters, glaring at the group. "I'm not using that thing. It's for full demons or humans who are possessed. I don't know what it'll do to me!"

Richie opened his mouth to respond, but a loud bang stopped him. The door to the barn slammed open, and they hear Mike's grandfather yelling angrily. Everyone glanced down and watched and Henry and his father ran into the barn.

"Fuck," Richie whispered, knowing that if they saw Eddie, none of them would last long.