Kisses | Reddie

thirtynine ☆ marks

by: they-drian on wattpad ( <333 )

~~~~~

Eddie and Richie lay facing each other on Richie's bed, comparing their hand sizes and admiring how adorably small Eddie's hand was compared to Richie's. Warm sparks ignited inside of the as their fingers ran along one another's.

"Your hands are huge, Richie," Eddie observed, giggling as he intertwined their fingers.

"Well Eds, you know what they say about guys with big hands." Richie winked.

"Ew, Richie!" Eddie promptly let go of his hand to grab a nearby pillow and whack Richie's face with it. It was typical of him to ruin the moment with some kind of sexual remark.

Richie only laughed in response as he turned onto his back, facing the ceiling above him.

"Richie..." Eddie began, noticing a reddish blotch on the boy's neck, exposed as his shirt collar slid out of place. "What's on your neck?"

Richie's eyes widened in shock and he quickly tugged his shirt back up to conceal the mark. "It's, uh... nothing, Eddie," he lied.

"Rich, seriously." Eddie reached to pull his shirt collar back down to get a closer look, only for his hand to be pushed away.

"Just... stop!" Richie yelled. Everything went silent as the instant guilt hit Richie and Eddie's eyes brimmed with tears at his sudden outburst.

"Shit. I didn't mean for it to come out like tht," Richie swallowed, sitting up and running his hands through his dark hair.

"It's fine," Eddie said quietly, sitting up with him. "You don't have to tell me..."

However, Eddie wasn't fine. All he could think about was how closely the mark resembled a hickey, and felt his heart ache with jealousy. It wasn't like they were dating - hell, he didn't even know if Richie liked him back - but he hated the thought of someone else kissing Richie. Richie flirted with other girls constantly, but he didn't think he would ever be able to get over it if Richie got a girlfriend.

They sat for a minute in a tense silence before Richie finally spoke up. "It's a bruise.

"From what? Did Henry hurt you?" Eddie asked in concern, trying to get Richie to look him in the eyes. Run-ins with Henry Bowers and his gang weren't uncommon, and never turned out well, especially with Richie's smart mouth.

"No... my mom got mad and she... she hit me, Eds," Richie confessed, breaking into a uncontrollable sob, remembering the events from the day before when she put her hands on him in a drunken rage.

"Oh my god, Richie..." Eddie shook his head in disbelief and sadness and wrapped his arms around Richie's neck, moving closer and pushing up the boy's glasses so he could cry into his shoulder. Richie pulled the smaller boy onto his lap, hugged around his waist. Richie had told Eddie before about his abusive parents, and Eddie wished with all his heart for Richie to never be treated that way by anyone.

Eddie whispered words of comfort to Richie as the boy quietly wept, playing with the ends of his curls as Richie scrunched the fabric of Eddie's burgundy shirt in his hands.

"If your parents put their hands on you again, come to me, Richie. You deserve so, so much better," Eddie whispered to him as Richie's sobs died down, close to tears himself.

"Thank you," Richie said sincerely, burying his head into the neck of the boy that meant the world to him. Richie pulled back and gave him a small smile. No matter how broken he was, Eddie was always the light in his life.

Eddie wiped away the remaining streaks of tears off of Richie's freckled cheeks. Eddie still couldn't help but stare at the mark, though, as he rested his hands on Richie's shoulders.

"Y'know, I thought the mark was something else..." Eddie wondered aloud.

"Oh yeah?" Richie raised an eyebrow teasingly. He hadn't realized how closely the mark must have resembled a hickey. "Were you jealous?"

"Maybe a little," Eddie admitted, blushing. 'More than a little,' he thought.

"Well, there's no one else I'd want a hickey from than the beautiful boy in front of me right now, Eds," Richie whispered int his ear, sending shivers down Eddie's spine.

Richie leaned closer to the boy so their noses were brushing. He tilted slightly to the right before softly connecting their lips. Eddie kissed back, moving his lips in sync with his delicately, nit wanting to come on too strong towards the still vulnerable boy. It was a gentle kiss, but full of the love and desire for each other that had been hidden in their hearts for years. They pulled back after a minute, staring at each other in awe. The moment was everything they could have asked for.

"I want you to mark me, Eds," Richie told him, his voice suddenly dripping with lust.

"I-I don't know how... it looks like it hurts, Richie," Eddie stuttered, his eyes darting back and forth from the mark to his dark eyes.

"Shhh... I'm gonna show you, is that okay, baby boy?" Richie asked, Eddie nodding quickly in response.

With his permission, Richie began kissing along his jawline before placing his lips on Eddie's neck, sucking softly on the skin. Eddie let out a small whimper, not used to the feeling but nevertheless enjoying it as he tugged on Richie's hair in response.

After Richie was satisfied with the developing mark he'd made, he moved up to look into Eddie's brown eyes. "Now did that hurt, babe?"

"N-No," Eddie replied. Richie tilted his head back to give Eddie better access as he leaned forward and mimicked Richie's actions on his neck. Richie bit his lip as he breathed out, ghosting a hand under Eddie's shirt.

Eddie undid the top buttons of Richie's shirt, his eyes widening in shock as he traced his hands over the numerous bruises and hand prints of abuse he saw on his bare chest. He kissed softly on them, too, and linked their hands together again.

And now Richie had two marks on his neck, one out of hate and one out of love.