As soon as Richie heard the splash, he dove in after Eddie. He knew that Eddie couldn't swim, and while Richie was no profession, he was sure he'd be able to keep them floating long enough for the others to help.
The water was ice cold, cutting through their clothes and almost instantly making Richie panic. He wasn't the only one panicking.
Eddie was flailing around in the water, clearly unsure of how to stay calm and keep himself floating. He was coughing and sputtering, his mind telling him he was going to die.
"Eds!" Richie yelled, swimming over to him and ignoring the stiff, tight feeling in his muscles from the icy water.
He managed to reach Eddie, who was struggling so bad that he was crying. His face was red from the cold and he was trying to yell for help, but every time he managed to get enough air in his lungs to call for help, he fell under and was unable to get words out.
Richie wrapped his arm around Eddie's front, underneath his arms. He was kicking his legs furiously to keep them floating.
"Calm the fuck down, Eddie!" Richie yelled, coughing as the cold, salty water got into his mouth. "If you don't calm down my heroic intentions will be wasted!"
"That's-" Eddie paused and coughed again, turning and gripping tightly onto Richie. "Your intentions are—are what you're worried about?!"
"Hang on guys!" came Mike's voice from above them.
"Stay calm, Eddie," Richie said, looking into his eyes to try to convince him that they'd be okay. "If you panic it's harder for me to keep us both floating."
Eddie nodded and tried to slow his breathing down. He really didn't want to drown. Especially when he was so close to freedom.
A loud splash echoed beside them and Richie saw a rope had been tossed over the side. Still holding on tightly to Eddie, Richie made his way over to the rope and grabbed onto it.
"Hold on. I'll climb up and help pull you up," Richie explained, gripping the rope.
It burned his hands and cut into his flesh. Richie winced but ignored the blood that began to run down his arms as he climbed. The only thing on his mind was getting to the deck so he could pull Eddie up.
It was almost as if Richie had allowed some kind of instinct to take over. He didn't care what the others may think; he needed to get Eddie out of the dangerous situation. It was his job to protect him.
Richie threw himself over the side of the deck, landing painfully hard on his shoulder. He ignored his throbbing hands and began to tug at the rope, trying to pull Eddie up.
"Hold on, Eds!" Richie yelled, struggling to tug the rope up.
"Richie, stop. We'll get him," Stan said, trying to get Richie to move.
"I need to save him, Stan!" Richie argued, trying to fight back and grip at the rope with his butchered hands.
"Stand to the side, Richie. You can help him when he gets up here but you're too exhausted to help him," Bev said gently, persuading Richie to move.
He looked over the edge and watched as Mike and the Tenebrians slowly pulled Eddie up, who was shivering and holding onto the rope like his life depended on it.
Once Eddie was close enough, Bev grabbed one of his arms and Mike grabbed the other. They pulled him over the edge and Richie immediately scrambled over to him and began to make sure he hadn't sustained any injuries.
"Richie, I'm okay," Eddie said with a smile, pushing Richie's hand away and looking at it. "I need to clean your hands. Mike, do you have a first aid kit or cleaning kit of some sort?"
Mike nodded and had Bev go to his cabin to get the pair dry clothes while he took them to the kitchen to allow Eddie to clean the cuts. According to the Lucantian, he'd taken courses in the medical field and wanted to make sure Richie wouldn't end up with some kind of disease.
"You're freezing, Eddie. I can clean the cuts," Mike insisted, noticing how Eddie was still shivering.
Eddie shook his head. "If I hadn't fallen over the edge of the ship, Richie wouldn't have hurt his hands. I can do it, don't worry," he said, accepting the medical kit and opening it to see what he had to work with.
There were basic bandages and things like that, but most of the drugs were all herb based. The only real painkillers could be acquired in Luceat, so Eddie wasn't really sure how to work with the herb medicines.
Richie could see that he was unsure but didn't want to embarrass him. "Hey, do you have anything warm to drink? I'm freezing my dick off."
Stan rolled his eyes and Mike laughed.
"I'll go get you some tea," he said, standing up.
Stan followed him, casting Richie a look that told him he believed the same things Bev did. That a Lucantian and a Tenebrian couldn't be together.
Richie knew they were just trying to protect him, but he didn't care. It shouldn't be their business who he wants to be with.
"Use the purple stuff," Richie said once the others had left the room. "It'll clean out the infection. We have the same stuff in Tenebris."
Eddie listened, looking worried when Richie hissed in pain. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said, terrified he'd hurt Richie somehow.
"It's fine, it's supposed to sting," Richie said through clenched teeth.
"I've never worked with herb medicine," Eddie murmured, clearly embarrassed. He began to bandage up Richie's hands, so focused that he missed the adoration in Richie's eyes.
"You got the real painkillers, huh?" Richie asked.
Eddie nodded, his face tinged pink.
"We have to find the herbs to make the medicines in Tenebris a lot. Stan's parents pay us sometimes to get them some of the rare herbs."
Eddie finished with the bandages and began to put his supplies away. "I'm sorry," he said in a small voice.
"What for?" Richie asked, genuinely confused.
"I don't know. Everything, I guess? You have to work so hard for everything and I've just been given everything and I didn't even help you and now they're going to attack Tenebris and if something bad happens I'll blame myself but I can't go back," Eddie rambled his heart rate picking up as he began to panic, running his hands through his hair. He started to pace the room absentmindedly, his clothes still dripping wet from the ocean.
Richie placed both of his hands on Eddie's shoulders and held him still. "None of this is your fault, Eddie. Okay? You're going to be okay."
"Yeah, I'll be okay! But Tenebris won't! You might not be! Richie, you can't go back."
"I have to, Eds. That's my family and my people," Richie said, sadly watching as Eddie went into another freaked out state, pushing past Richie and pacing again.
"You can't! If anyone in Luceat finds out that you kidnapped me but helped me escape they'll everyone you care about and make you watch before they kill you and everyone else in your country! You can't go back! We need to hide, Richie!"
Bev walked into the room and handed them each a set of dry clothes, noticing how upset both boys looked. "Are you two okay?"
Richie nodded and turned toward the door. "I'm changing then taking a nap. My head is throbbing."
Eddie watching him leave, feeling colder than he had before. He couldn't let Richie die. He didn't know what it was, but Eddie knew he had to protect him.
