Roads Beyond

Mike is Tired of Sexual Tension

Bev wasn't able to stay at Bill's; she had lied and told her father that she was studying with some girl friends. And the other Losers were not girl friends. Obviously.

So Ben walked her home, and since his house was on the way, he skipped out on the sleepover too. While Richie teased him and Bev about lying so they could have sex, Bill helped a sleepy Stan up the stairs and into bed.

"Bye Ben! Bev!" he shouted. "Mike and Eddie, please make sure Richie doesn't do anything stupid!-" at this Richie stuck up his middle finger, "-I'm going to bed, but you know where the movies are, and two of you can sleep in Stan's room. The couch is also open. You know where the blankets and pillows are. Goodnight!"

Bill's door slammed shut, leaving Mike, Richie and Eddie in the living room.

"Why doesn't Stan sleep in his own room?" Eddie wondered aloud. Richie shrugged, but Mike stared at him for a moment.

"Maybe Stan and Bill are together," he said. Eddie scoffed at the idea; he was the only freak in the group who thought like that. There was no way they were together.

"Don't know, don't care," Richie said, walking over to a shelf and picking up a movie at random. "The only relationship I care about is mine and Eds."

"Don't call me that. And we're not together."

"All in good time, Eduardo."

"Don't call me that either."

"Eddie Spagh-"

The smaller boy walked over to him and put a hand over his mouth, grabbing the movie from Richie's hand and putting it back on the shelf.

"Stop being a spaz, fucknuts," Eddie muttered to him. "You're getting on my nerves."

"Who'f goin to shweep on the coush," Richie said, his response muffled by Eddie's hand. Mike chuckled as Eddie swiftly took his hand away and wiped it on his pants in disgust.

"You guys can take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch tonight," Eddie said, attempting to shoo them away. Richie's face took on a disappointed look.

Quickly, Mike got an idea. He caught Eddie's wrist and pushed him towards Richie with a bright smile.

"Nah, you always take the couch, Eddie," he said warmly. "I'll take it this time. You two can have the bed."

Before Eddie could argue, Richie whooped and started walking up the stairs.

"Ah say, Mikey, my boy," he said. "You are a gentleman!"

Just as Eddie was about to open his mouth, Richie looked at him from the top of the stairs with his enormous doe eyes and messy black curls, and gestured with his hand.

"Come on, Eddie, let's go."

Richie ran out of sight and towards the bedroom. Eddie groaned and looked at Mike with a barely concealed smile.

"I hate you," Eddie muttered.

"Beep beep, Eddie," Mike answered.

Eddie rolled his eyes when Mike winked at him and shooed him out of the living room, feeling incredibly satisfied with himself.

~~~

When Eddie got upstairs and into Stan's temporary room, he saw that Richie was lying on top of the bed shirtless. The boy seemed to be reading one of Stan's comic books, and when he looked up Eddie was staring at his exposed midriff. Eddie blushed and cleared his throat, looking away and shutting the door behind him.

"Put a shirt on, Trashmouth," he complained, much to the amusement of Richie.

"Enjoying the view, Eds?" Richie asked, standing on the bed and posing for the unamused smaller boy.

"No. You look like a fucking beanstalk, Trashmouth." Eddie closed the blinds on the window and shut the curtains to block out most of the moonlight. Richie put a hand to his heart and fell back onto the bed like a wounded warrior. Eddie laughed lightly.

"That hurt," Richie sighed. Then, he shifted in the bed with a look of discomfort.

"Who knew Stan's bed was so firm. Maybe that's why he acts like there's a stick up his ass."

"Rich, don't be mean," Eddie said, turning off the lamp in the room and pitching the room into darkness. "Stan's been through a lot the last month or so. Plus, it's hard not to have a stick up your ass when you're around someone like you."

"Hey!" Richie said loudly. "What d'ya mean? I'm a delight to be around!"

"Yeah, when you're not talking about fucking someone's mom," Eddie replied, peeling off his shirt and pants before climbing into bed. Richie chuckled at that, before also taking off his pants and crawling into bed next to Eddie.

In the moonlit room, the taller boy got to admire Eddie's features: the soft jawline he had, the curve of his nose, the constellations of freckles on his face. Over the years Eddie had stopped putting a lot of care into his hair, so it curled slightly at the ends and tucked neatly behind his ear. Above all was the color of his eyes, a greyish blue that looked like the beach sky on an overcast day.

"What're you staring at, Richie?" Eddie asked. "I'm not that ugly am I?"

Richie scoffed and quickly pressed a soft kiss to the other boy's forehead. Eddie tensed up, and his eyes widened. That did not just happen.

"I think you're perfect, Eds."

And before Eddie could come up with a proper response to that, Richie was already fast asleep, his arms loosely wrapped around the boy of his dreams.