Kisses | Reddie

fourteen ☆ one more

by: jeongshook on ao3 (all credit goes to them, check them out or else)

Eddie kaspbrak hates germs, but maybe for Richie Tozier, he can make an exception.

~~~~~

Eddie Kaspbrak is pretty sure he'd be better off with relatively normal parents, parents like Bill and Georgie Denbrough's or like his uncle who visits sometimes and brings him presents. His kids - Eddie's cousins - look much more normal and not at all loser-like, and do not care if they get germs all over them. When he thinks about it, of course, he knows he's the smarter one because he knows he's less likely to end up hurting himself or getting any diseases, and he's fragile anyways... but somewhere deep in his mind, he's also aware that this is not the norm for other kids, and that his mother kind of made him this way. He knows she means well and just wants to protect him - but he shouldn't be worrying about germs and bacteria at the age of 15; he just can't help it. He's like this now. It's not he can escape the habit and the mindset now when it's all he's ever known.

So he continues to take his pills like a good boy and use his inhaler the second he can feel his breathing become heavier because his asthma, at least, is definitely real. And it sucks.

So, long story short, Eddie knows this obsession with being clean is kind of weird - but it's also true that he tends to somehow ignore the urge more when he's with his friends. Richie in particular just seems to attract dirt and danger wherever he goes, and Eddie usually ends up looking just as bad, if not worse. He wouldn't give it up though, not if he can help it. Richie is his best friend, and if Richie wants to get in fights with Henry Bowers and walk around in greywayer all day, well, who is Eddie to stop him? Besides, he kind of enjoys the thrill of being able to actually do things, to live a little, which is exactly the opposite of what his life is like at home. He does draw the line at some point though, because Richie gets as disgusting as a 15 year old boy can get, you should see his room-

"Ew, you know how unsanitary that is?" Eddie exclaims as he steps into Richie's room. It almost comes automatically now.

Richie, who had gone through a serious growth spurt in the past year and will consume anything, eats the leftover sandwich that has been sitting on his drawer anyway, much to Eddie's disgust. He knows it's been there for at least half a day now, and he knows Richie didn't wash his hands after getting off his bike. As Richie mockingly shows the half-chewed contents of his mouth to Eddie, he can't help but smile, as if he finds it a little endearing.

"You're disgusting," he tells his best friend, although a little more fondly than he would've liked.

"You love me," Richie replies without hesitation, and somewhere, something deep inside in Eddie Kaspbrak suddenly feels... weird. Not natural. Tingly, kind of panicky like the beginning of an asthma attack, except somehow, his breathing is fine and the feeling is not entirely negative. He ignores it because honestly, the broccoli his mother made yesterday was suspiciously crispy and burnt, so it's probably just his stomach. He does have some digestants in his fanny pack, if things get worse.

"Eddie? You okay?" Richie's voice pulls him back to reality, and he realizes he's been standing there in the middle of the room, staring at his best friend while he chewed that disgusting piece of sandwich with a dumb look on his face. Now Eddie just feels awkward.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking about how repelling you are."

"Sure, Eds," Richie retorts. "Don't call me that!" He mouths exactly on time with Eddie, who bursts out almost instinctively. "Your lines are predictable."

After that, his friend gathers the things he needs to stay over at Bill's later, and they fall back into their normal dynamic. Richie goes on about his day as if nothing happened, and, well nothing really did, it's just... weird now. Something is really-