~REDDIE ONESHOTS~

Warmth

Winter was fast approaching in Derry, and the Kaspbrak home's heater had broken. Mrs. Kaspbrak had been trying to make plans to get someone to come in and fix it for days, and promised Eddie it would soon be better. After all, she'd been the one who warned Eddie of all the dangers of cold weather, and Eddie had them hardwired into his brain from after all his mother's lessons growing up.

Hypothermia, frostbite, fevers...the possibilities were endless. Eddie shivered at the thought.

Just then, he heard the doorbell ring. Eddie covered himself in a blanket and headed to the front door. He expected it to be his mother, coming back after running some errands. But to his surprise, there stood Richie - his best friend and also crush, though he didn't want to admit it.

"Hey Eds," Richie said softly. "I wanted to bring some extra blankets, for, you know - until your heater's fixed."

He looks so adorable all wrapped up in blankets, he thought.

"Thanks, Richie. Come in," Eddie invited him in with a smile and closed the door that brought in another cool breeze.

"It's fucking freezing in here. Are you okay?" Richie asked with genuine concern - something Eddie had rarely seen before. Richie was usually the clown of the group and had a way of masking his emotions with jokes or insults.

"I think... d-don't know how much longer I can take it though, Richie," Eddie pouted as he held on tighter to the blanket around him. Richie frowned.

"Come here," Richie cooed, lifting Eddie's light body up and setting him on the living room couch. He piled over him in blankets upon blankets, and then slid in next to him. He put his arm around Eddie's shoulder and let his legs lay over his own as the smaller boy blushed. 

"Is this better?" Richie asked, glad to see some color brought back into Eddie's face. Richie always wanted to make sure Eddie was okay, and cared about him more than he did towards any of the other Losers - he just couldn't explain why he felt this way, or even if Eddie felt the same. 

"Yeah, it is," Eddie nodded, snuggling deeper into Richie's side. Richie ran his fingers through Eddie's hair and kissed his forehead gently. 

"Good," he replied, satisfied that he could be of any help.

The two lay there until Eddie fell asleep peacefully in Richie's arms. Eddie no longer felt cold at all. He felt his heart warm with every comforting touch from Richie and his cheeks glow every time he played with his hair. Cozy in Richie's embrace (and blankets) was exactly where he wanted to be.

Honestly, he might not mind if the heat wasn't fixed for another few days as long as Richie was there to keep him warm.