Demon 🔥 Reddie

32

The teenagers all stared at the empty space where the portal had stood seconds before.

"H-holy shit," Bill whispered, clearly on edge from his and his friends current situation. They were all still demons, wings out and eyes tinged red.

"Here. We need to get rid of them," Bev said, handing the empty devices around the group.

Eddie hesitated but accepted one after seeing how relieved Richie looked that he was finally going to be demon free. They all took deep breaths and jammed the devices where their hearts were, watching as the demons were leeched out of their bodies.

Once they were out, all of the teenagers handed their devices to Avi. She took them hesitantly, looking around at the teenagers who all showed different emotions.

Eddie looked regretful, Richie, Bev, and Stan didn't seem to be feeling a specific way, while Mike, Ben, and Bill all looked relieved.

"Is it over then?" Richie asked, glancing toward the stairs. He was eager to get out of the Neibolt house.

"I... I guess it is," Avi said quietly, walking toward the stairs and climbing to the main level. There was an emotion on her face that no one could pinpoint.

"Where are we going?" Bev asked as they all followed Avi out of the house and down the road.

"I need to see Sonia. Let her know that Eddie is demon free so he doesn't have to be locked up."

"Was it your idea?" Eddie asked, hurt that Avi may have had a part in making sure he was stuck in the House his whole life.

"No. I told her that you had control but she said it was safer. I didn't do anything to encourage nor stop it," Avi said, walking toward the hospital.

They all entered Sonia's room, who was reading a magazine. She put it down when she saw all of the Derry kids as well as Avi and Jane.

"Aviana?" Sonia asked, cocking her head as she looked at the enchantress.

"The portal is closed and the demon is out of your son," Avi said bitterly, ignoring Sonia's relief.

"Everyone is okay?"

"Besides Henry Bowers," Bev said, arms crossed and leaning on the wall. "His soul was sucked out and he's kind of an empty shell."

"I'll erase any memories of him before I leave," Avi said in an annoyed voice, turning toward the door.

"Are you still mad at me?" Sonia asked sadly, watching as Avi walked toward the door.

Eddie and Richie exchanged a confused look. They thought Sonia and Avi got along. They had no clue that Avi seemed to hate her and had no idea what the reasoning behind it was.

"I'll always be pissed off at you. I told you what needed to be done and what was necessary. If you'd listened I'd probably have stuck around," Avi hissed, walking out the door and ignoring Sonia's protest.

"What's her issue?" Eddie asked, arms crossed.

He didn't like Sonia or Avi, but he trusted Avi more. She did save them and he felt she must have reasoning behind her anger.

"She's angry at me for not removing your demon soul when you were little," Sonia said, knowing Eddie would be angry and have questions.

"You could've-" Eddie began, but Sonia stopped him.

"Yes, I did. I was selfish and I thought having you as part demon would remind me of your father but at some point I realized I couldn't control you. I'm sorry, Eddie."

Eddie was fuming, anger radiating off of him. If he was still part demon, his eyes would be red, but they stayed brown. Then, as soon as his anger began, it stopped.

"I don't trust you, but I don't hate you," he said in a low voice.

"If you don't want to live with me I understand."

Eddie shrugged. "I will, but only if you allow me to go to school and be with my friends and my boyfriend," he said, grabbing Richie's hand and holding it up for Sonia to see.

Sonia looked like she was about to protest, but sighed and nodded. "Okay. I'll be home in a few hours," she said, allowing Eddie and the others to leave the room.

•••

Jane left for her hometown of Hawkins, thanks to Mike, who was able to point her to the train station. She bid the others a goodbye and took off, wishing them luck and assuring them she'd come back if they ever needed any help.

No one had seen Avi, but they didn't dwell. They all sat in Bill's basement, watching movies. It went unspoken, but there was so much love in the room, as well as respect for everyone there. They'd all risked their lives for each other, whether they knew each other well or not.

Eddie sat in Richie's lap, exhausted. He wasn't used to the lack of power that he had without his demon soul, reducing him to an exhausted state.

Richie had his arms wrapped around Eddie's front, eyes focused on the screen of the TV but his mind focused on Eddie. He was happy that they'd finally get to be together, but he could see how lost Eddie was without his second soul.

"Are you doing okay, baby?" Richie whispered into Eddie's ear after he shifted, trying to get comfortable. Richie could tell he wasn't used to not having wings and that it felt strange.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just... coping?" Eddie said, but it sounded like a question.

"How about tomorrow we can go into town and I'll take you to breakfast. We can get all the sugar you want and have stomach aches without any regrets," Richie said, pressing a kiss under Eddie's ear, making him giggle.

"Okay, Rich," Eddie murmured, turning around in his lap and pressing their lips together. "I lo-"

Eddie was cut off by a loud knock at the door, making everyone groan in annoyance. Bill got up to answer it and everyone exchanged confused looks when Avi ran down the stairs.

"Can you knock five seconds later next time?" Richie asked with an eye roll. "I was about to get a confession out of Eds."

"Whatever, Tozier. I need to talk to you guys," Avi said, sitting on the couch and waiting until everyone was paying attention. "Okay, I know this is weird, but I've got a bunch of places to go because bad things are always happening and I could really use some help. Like, on this side of the country."

"Wh-what are y-you asking?" Bill asked, sitting in Stan's lap.

Avi held out the containment devices filled with the neutral souls. "Keep these. If there's ever any danger, use them and protect this town. I can't do it while I'm away, but you guys can," she said, clearly desperate.

"I thought you hated this place," Eddie stated, though he accepted the device with his extra soul.

Avi smiled and stood to leave. "Home is home. Good luck, I'll come back in a couple of years to see you guys."

As soon as she left, everyone looked to Eddie.

"What's the plan, Eds?" Richie asked with a smirk.

Eddie grinned. "We learn to control these things. We're in this together," he said, kissing Richie's cheek.

"Welcome to the losers club," Richie whispered, finally at peace.