Reddie For You [On Hiatus]

| Chapter 13 |

"It's burning."

"No it's not Eds, trust me."

"Yes it is! I smell it burning!"

"That's how it's supposed to smell!"

"That is not how turkey is supposed to smell!" Eddie pushed him out of the way to open the oven, but Richie wrapped his arms around his waist to prevent him from getting far. "Richie let go!" He wiggled around stubbornly, fighting against the strong forearms that encased him.

"Nuh uh, let me do it!" Richie twirled him around easily, wrapping an arm around his neck to put him in a headlock. Luckily his arms were long, because Eddie's elbows were a force to be reckoned with and Richie didn't know if his ribs could take it.

They decided to have a small Thanksgiving dinner of their own before the real deal at the Tozier's house in Bar Harbor. They both worked together to cook some staple dishes, which was pretty fun to say the least. The mashed potatoes and green beans came out perfect, and so did the corn bread which was more of a hassle. Though the hardest part by far had to be the turkey.

It was tiny, considering that it was only for the two of them. So maybe it should've been easier to cook than a full-sized turkey, but it was about to start a brawl in the kitchen. Eddie stepped on Richie's foot, hard, ripping a yelp from him. He took the moment of distraction to dash towards the oven, tugging it open while sliding the oven mitts over his hands. Richie didn't even try to stop him now, preoccupied with balancing on one leg while rubbing his injured foot. Eddie glared at him, slowly sliding the bird out of the oven before kicking the door closed. "Look, this side is burnt, dipshit."

"Whatever! Eighty percent looks perfectly fine!"

"Yeah, good thing I took it out now before we lost those parts too!" Eddie tossed the oven mitts onto the counter and frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair. "We can't even cook a fucking turkey right. How are we going to help your parents with the real thing?"

Richie frowned at him, crossing the kitchen towards his high strung boy. Eddie had been panicking for the past few days about seeing Riche's family for Thanksgiving. It meant a lot to him, getting to see the Tozier family again after all of these years and he needed it to go perfectly. Richie assured him that everything was going to be fine and they were going to have a good time, but Eddie couldn't help but obsess over how to make it the best Thanksgiving ever.

It wasn't hard to beat for Eddie. Thanksgiving was never a fun holiday for him, especially when his mother stopped celebrating with anyone else from the rest of their family. Richie wrapped his arms around him, nosing in his disheveled hair. "Is that why you've been so uptight today?" He laughed at the small groan he let out as a response. "Eds, you know they love you right? They never stopped loving you."

"Yeah..."

"They are so excited to see you again." He promised. "So just try to relax okay?"

"Okay." He sighed, really trying. "I'm just being ridiculous again."

"You're not ridiculous." Richie pecked the top of his head, pulling away to look at the mess of a kitchen. Ingredients and cooking tools were scattered everywhere, used napkins and empty bags flowing out of the trash. "Well, maybe we are both a little ridiculous."

It made him feel a little bit better, and as they ate their fucked up turkey they forgot about the big day slowly creeping up on them. But nothing ever really escaped Eddie, especially when he was scared. The only way he saw it possible to make it through the last night before leaving for Maine was to get completely wine drunk. And Richie let him, trying his hardest not to give in to his advances. Because drunk Eddie was two things.