OUCH!➳reddie

e i g h t

you guys are too sweet, thank you so much for your comments and votes they make me so happy !!(◠ω◠✿)

richie considered himself strong but carrying eddie made himself feel like a superhero. he was just so light. richie tried to soften his steps since they jostled eddie, who winced every time. he was still trembling into richie's firm chest. "we're almost there, eds."

once they entered the tozier' home, richie was met with the reeking smell of booze floating in the air. thankfully however, there was no one home. he shifted eddie in his arms again, taking the fragile boy upstairs.

he opened the bathroom door, setting eddie down on the closed toilet seat. he watched as eddie desperately tried to scrub his tears away only to smudge the mud even more. "hey, hey, c'mon eds, s'alright," richie gently grabbed both of his wrists, pulling them away from his face. eddie looked up with broken eyes, red-rimmed with tears.

he sighed softly, tucking a strand of hair behind eddie's ear. eddie remained silent.

he grabbed a couple towels, wetting them with warm water. eddie flinched heavily as richie tried to wash some of the mud from his face. "eds, you gotta work with me."

"don't call me eds," eddie grumbled quietly under his breath, letting richie wipe away caked on dirt from his face. under all the dirt revealed cuts and bruises that made richie click his tongue in bubbling anger. "they got you good, huh?"

eddie didn't answer, adverting his gaze. richie continued to wipe the dirt away from his cheeks, forehead, nose, until his face was clear and his towel was stained brown. he's so close to eddie's face that he can see the fading freckles that autumn was taking. "r-rich?" richie hummed in response. "i'm s-sorry i missed your game."

richie almost smiled, laughter bubbling in his throat. "that's what your worried about, my game? oh, eds," the laugh peeked through his lips. he watched in amusement as a blush spreaded across eddie's cheeks like a wild fire. he fidgeted with his inhaler that rested in his hands, wincing at the pain in his right arm. richie's face softened.

"i'm worried about your arm," richie fretted softly. eddie pulled it closer to him self consciously, light brown eyes finally reaching richie's darker ones. he shivered, pulling richie's jacket closer to him as he tried to stop his teeth from chattering. richie's house was always cold. that's just how it was.

"do you want to take a shower?" richie asked carefully, studying eddie's facial expression for any sign of discomfort. when he found none, he continued, "it'll get you out of those nasty clothes and warm you right up."

eddie looked hesitant for a moment, a sense of nervousness flashing through his eyes. after a moment, he nodded shyly. "yes, p-please."

richie let a ghost of a smile grow on his face, stretching out his lips. "one moment, i'm just going to get you some clothes." eddie nodded once again, looking sheepish. he watched richie leave the bathroom and exhaled a breath he didn't know he was holding. he turned to the mirror, cringing at his reflection. god, he looked awful. his chapped lips were turning a soft blue, purple bags under his eyes (however, they had been there before but this had only amplified them), and hollow cheeks. he looked like a walking corpse.

he took off his shoes and socks, the cool tiled ground causing his toes to curl up. there was a knock at door causing eddie to look up. richie opened the door, holding an assortment of clean clothes and a large towel in his arms. he placed them on the counter before closing the door again. it took eddie a few moments to figure out how to use richie's shower. he pulled down the handle and cold water spewed from the shower head.

from outside the bathroom, richie got changed, tugged a faded derry baseball tee over his bare torso. he pulled on a pair of sweatpants as he listened to the shower run. he ran his fingers over his knuckles nervously, rubbing circles into the soft skin. eddie kaspbrak was in his house.

his eyes caught how utterly messy his room was. comics and loose clothing strewn over the carpet floor along with forgotten cigarette packets and left over food that had gotten moldy after the first few weeks. richie cringed, eyes widening. quickly, he scooped up as much crap as he could, shoving it into the closet. he piled up his comics and set them by his bookshelf, heart racing when he heard the shower stop as he shoved everything under his bed.

after a few moments the bathroom door opened revealing a cuddled up eddie, looking cozy in richie's oversized football shirt that went past his knees and sweatpants. richie gaped slightly because, fuck, eddie looked so good in his clothes.

"h-hey," richie's voice went up a few pitches. he harrumphed, trying desperately to cover it with a cough. eddie smiled softly, glancing outside. it was almost pitch black. "i should probably head home now, momma's gonna have a bird."

richie's eyes widened. "you're kidding, right? eddie, it's like 10:30 at night, you're not walking home. you can just stay the night."

eddie seemed surprised and flustered. "oh," he licked his lips, eyes glancing to the bed then to the floor. "i-i'll take the floor, then."

richie sighed again, running a hand over his face. eddie was so hard to argue with. his lips were jutted into a pout and his chocolate brown eyes swirled with confusion. "eds, you take the bed, i'll sleep on the ground. you're the guest."

"b-but-"

"ah, ta ta, you're the guest, that means you get the bed." eddie sighed in defeat, covering his arms across his chest as he walked towards richie's bed, his hand running over the soft duvet. he looked up gratefully. "t-thanks, richie."

eddie crawled into richie's bed, inhaling the strong smell of richie; lavender and cigarette smoke. richie made his way to the bathroom, probably to brush his teeth. eddie grimaced, running his tongue over his teeth. he hated not brushing his teeth. however, he would survive tonight.

he felt bad, knowing that richie had to see on the cold ground while eddie took the bed. he gnawed on his bottom lip nervously. would he even be able to take that type of rejection?

"r-rich?" he traced the grooves of the blanket nervously. "we can fit two people up here, if y-you want." eddie screwed his eyes shut, waiting for rejection. he waited for a moment then felt the room get darker. suddenly, there was another body beside him, squirming to get comfortable. "eds, quit being such a blanket hog!"

eddie felt a smile blossom on his face as he moved over, creating room for richie. richie's scent was overwhelming. his stomach twisted as he felt richie's much longer legs entangle with his own, keeping them warm. "is this okay?" richie's breath tickled his collar bones causing a shiver to be sent down his spine. he nodded, pulling the blankets up closer to him.

after a few moments, when eddie's eyes were drooping down with sleepness, he felt richie's chapped yet soft lips graze the bottom of his jaw. "goodnight eds," he whispered softly, cuddling his face in eddie's soft hair. eddie shivered.

and they fell asleep, richie's arms around eddie's torso and eddie's face buried in his chest, closer than possible.