Collision

Only You

Dinner had gone pretty well, at least, until Nancy had forced their parents to give them an explanation as to why one of her brothers had been given up for adoption. Long story short, the Wheeler's had no clue they were expecting twins, and they could barely afford another baby, as the pregnancy had been an accident, according to Ted. It was his idea to give him up for adoption, which Richie had been pretty iffy about, mumbling under his breath to Eddie when they were alone for all of two seconds. There had been a lot of tears from Karen, Nancy, and even a tear or two from Mike, which he wiped away when no one was looking. Richie didn't really react much to it, other than hugging her and telling her it was alright when she finished telling them.

After dinner, just like Mike had told him, Ted went into the living room for the night, so the rest of the family went downstairs to the remodeled basement so they could talk freely. There was a couch, a love seat on the opposite wall, and a table with six chairs around it. 

"That's where we played D and D." Mike told him when he saw that he'd been looking at it. "Mom won't get rid of it."

"You'd think she would, considering how much she used to complain about it." El said, crawling inside a fort that Richie hadn't noticed until now. She motioned for Eddie to follow her, and he did, the two fitting inside it easily. 

"What's with the fort?" He asked, sitting on the floor in front of Holly, who was excitedly running a brush through his hair. Mike sat on the floor across from him, leaning against the love seat, holding onto one of Lonora's hands as she spun in a circle.

"El loved forts when we were younger." Mike told him. "And when we first started dating and she started coming over, we set it up and it's been up ever since."

"Awesome. I bet it's awkward trying to sit in there now."

"Oh yeah, definitely. I'm way too tall." Richie snorted, nodding.

"Yeah, I see that."

They all talked among themselves, El and Eddie giggling in the fort, probably swapping embarrassing stories of their fiance and boyfriend. They'd come out a few minutes after Holly finished braiding his hair, only doing a couple... french braids? He couldn't remember what she called them, but he knew his head would be sore later but he just kept them for her  sake.

"Nice look there, Richie." El joked. He scowled at her but ran a hand over his head, feeling the braids. It certainly felt weird.

"So, Richie, what do you do?" Jonathan asked, sitting at the table with Nancy and Karen.

"I'm in a band." He told him. "Lead singer."

"Really?" Richie hummed in response, sitting up fully and stretching, his back cracking. Lonora giggled at the sound.

"What's so funny, tiny child?" He asked sweetly, reaching his fingers out to tickle under her arms, causing her to squeal and duck under Mike's arm.

"How long have you and the band been together?" Karen asked.

"Four years. I've always really been into music, since I could remember."

"Me and the rest of our friends all pitched in and bought him his first guitar when we were fourteen." Eddie said, grinning proudly. Richie smiled throwing an arm around Eddie's shoulders.

"I've never cried harder than that day."

"Mike cried when he got his first guitar too." Nancy said.

"Stop exposing me." Mike glared at her and she snorted.

"What, it's true! I've got pictures actually." Karen said, grinning evily. Mike's eyes widened.