gay ➳ reddie ✓

42

*not my art*

Thursday. July 9, 1987

Since sharing his doubts, Eddie spent his mornings with Richie on the floor as they leaned against the foot of his bed. Each morning, they would sit side by side, with Eddie's head on Richie's shoulder. They'd wait two minutes and then evaluate his heart rate. Afterwards they'd try holding hands for another two minutes. It became a sort of science experiment, Eddie liked to think.

Though it wasn't enough to be sure. And as Thursday was finally upon them, it was time for Eddie to put his feelings to the final test. It was the day he'd finally kiss his friend Will.

The thought of it made his hands sweat. Richie noticed this right away.

"Your hands." He muttered. Eddie nodded, taking a deep breath.

"You nervous?" Richie asked, relieving an annoyed look from Eddie in return.

"Of course. I've never kissed anyone else, you know?" Eddie lowered his voice, even though they were alone.

Richie pondered for a moment, rubbing his thumb over Eddie's hand. The act sent shivers down the boy's spine but he kept it to himself. He heard Richie humming, in thought.

Finally, the boy came up with a solution. He turned to Eddie with a grin.

"I'll help you practice." Richie stated. Eddie rolled his eyes. He'd kissed Richie before, he needed new information. A part of him was still worried he'd enjoy it, only to have Richie hurt him again.

"Richie," Eddie sighed. He didn't want to feel it.

"C'mon, it's just practice. We talked about it, it's cool. You'll kiss Will and you'll realize you don't actually like me. If you do, after, maybe we can figure it out."

Eddie could only see half the logic in the entire situation but nodded, regardless. Richie let go of his hand soon after and inched forward. Shakily, Eddie turned his head to face the boy.

"You ready?" Eddie nodded, once again, closing his eyes.

Richie placed a hand on the boy's cheek, clearing his throat. The smaller boy opened his eyes when nothing happened. He saw Richie staring back at him, waiting. Eddie rose an eyebrow as Richie stayed silent. He took a moment to admire the boy's features and reached forward to remove his large glasses.

"That's a boy, spaghetti head. Do some shit like that to really ease into it." Richie snickered, not taking the situation seriously. Eddie rolled his eyes, cursing Richie for ruining the moment. However, he continued to gaze into the other's eyes now, the view much clearer without the goggles blocking his face. Eddie's eyes flickered down to the boy's lips, then back up to the freckles on his nose, making their way back to his eyes. He was growing very fond of Richie's eyes, he noticed. At one point in time, he couldn't bear to look at the boy and yet he found himself hypnotized by them. 

"Are you just gonna stare at him or what-" Richie received a glare from Eddie before the former spoke.

"Shut up, trashmouth," is all he said before he leaned forward, a hand behind Richie's neck, and kissed the boy. Richie's hands were stuck at his sides for a moment, before he eased into it, placing them on either side of Eddie's waist. Eddie wanted to experiment techniques, Richie figured, when he felt the smaller's tongue graze the inside of his mouth. The room was silent apart from the faint sounds of their breathing and the shuffling of their feet, as they inched closer. 

Eddie's head was spinning. His face was flushed and there was a tickling feeling in his stomach that rose to his chest as he sat kissing the boy he'd spent years despising. He felt Richie's hands interlock behind his back and he tried to bite back the smile that dared to creep onto his face. He didn't know how he could enjoy anything so much but all he wanted was more. Eddie was already halfway on top of Richie's lap when there was a sharp knock at the door. The two broke apart like deer caught in headlights.