𝗥𝗢𝗠𝗘, reddie

038. pozzuoli

EDDIE smiles at the screen of his cell phone as he settles the phone against a box of art pencils on his desk. Once it's properly set so that it wont fall, he looks down at the halfway-done drawing of a girl on his desk.

It's been three weeks since the Florida trip, which means nearly three weeks since they've started dating, and they've taken to Facetiming almost everyday.

It's not much of a change since they were used to calling each other often even as oblivious friends, but it feels different due to their relationship beginning.

"Hey, baby," Eddie says to Richie as he picks up a kneaded eraser to remove some of the leftover pencil marks from before he'd begun inking the piece.

A small, squeaky noise comes from the speaker of his phone, and he glances at the screen to see that Richie is covering his mouth, his entire face rosy red.

"Uh, you okay?" Eddie asks him as he buries his pale but reddening face behind his hands. He can't help but admire how cute his boyfriend is, even though he doesn't fully understand his reaction.

"Fine," Richie says, muffled from his bony hands covering his face, "That's the first time you've called me baby out loud since we started... y'know. Dating."

Eddie's face morphs into something more smug from Richie's words as he shifts in his old chair, something he bought from a yard sale a year ago because it was only four dollars, and he rests his chin on his hand. "Is that okay?" He asks, knowing damn well that it is.

"It's perfect," Richie says, and then, "You're perfect."

He moves his hands away from his face shyly to admire Eddie, who blushes a little bit at the fond stare from his boyfriend, looking down into his lap.

"I wish I could just give you a kiss on the cheek right now," Richie says softly, and for some reason, even after multiple kisses on the mouth before they'd parted, he still flusters at the comment.

He picks up a paintbrush to apply watercolor to his piece while they softly talk, the majority of the time spent sneaking glances at each other. They know they don't have to sneak anymore, that they like each other, but they still do it anyway.

Sometimes they'll glance up at the same time and share a fond smile, and typically Eddie mourns the distance, misses the days where they got to press their lips together and hold hands.

Halfway through drawing the girl's hair on the thick page, he looks up at the phone screen intently. Richie is already staring back at him.

"I'm so mad that we wasted so much time pining in Orlando," Eddie says, his paintbrush falling out of his hand, smearing a bit of brown onto the surface of the desk.

Richie chuckles a little, causing his smaller boyfriend to raise an eyebrow at him, coming out lower quality on the other side of the screen. "Sounds like a song. Pining in Orlando," He explains, and Eddie giggles a little bit.

It's a beautiful sound to Richie, something he thinks that he can never get used to. Hearing it through the screen is nothing compared to hearing it in real life, he's discovered, and it can still make his heart skip a beat.

"God, if you write a song about me, do not call it that," Eddie responds, crossing his arms, his art piece now left ignored from the playful conversation between them. "Orlando is so not romantic."

Richie scoffs in response, a wide smile on his face, and Eddie takes a moment to admire him through the screen. "You totally thought it was romantic when we were there! Aw, Richie, the Orlando Eye!" He mocks, and Eddie laughs loudly.