When Richie got up, he noticed light flooding into the room, signifying they'd made it to the morning. His side was way too warm, and he realized it was because Eddie was still curled up next to him, deeply asleep.
Richie detached himself from Eddie, wrapping him in a blanket and walking up the stairs to the main deck.
Bev, Mike, and Stan were standing at the front, looking out onto the sea. They were chatting, laughing, and genuinely getting along. It wasn't surprising, as Richie knew his friends were kind despite their rough edges, but they were also heading to an unknown place and down two men.
"Good morning!" Mike called, noticing Richie walking toward them. "Hungry?"
Richie laughed. "I'm from Tenebris, Mikey. I'm always hungry."
Bev and Stan both rolled their eyes and laughed, but Mike seemed a little uncomfortable. It was clear that Richie would often make jokes out of his shitty life, but it wasn't something Mike was used to.
"He's joking, Mike. If he's not in a pissy mood he's making jokes about how bad we have it," Stan said, shooting Richie a glare.
"Yeah, sorry. It's just my charming personality."
"Charming?" Bev asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Fuck off."
Mike laughed awkwardly and began to walk toward a room that they assumed was the kitchen. "I'll start on breakfast, then," he said, running a hand through his hair.
Stan looked at Richie and Bev with a nervous look. "I'll come help," he said, looking at Richie sympathetically before running off.
As soon as he was out of sight, Richie turned to Bev with his arms crossed. "You're gonna lecture me?" he asked, knowing that must be the reason behind Stan's expressions.
"You have a thing for the Lucantian," Bev said with a shrug.
"I saved him, Bev. He didn't deserve anything that happened to him," Richie argued. He didn't want to go into the depths of his confusing feelings about Eddie.
"I'm not saying he did. It's a good thing that you did, saving him from Henry and Patrick. I'm just saying that I think it goes deeper than that for you."
"So what if it does?"
"He's not like us."
"And? We're not on Divisus anymore."
Bev sighed. "But we will go back. If it means saving our people, I know you will go back. You know that too. He wants to leave, and he's not going to leave his freedom to help us."
"Why are you telling me this?" Richie asked, feeling more and more upset. He didn't know what he felt for Eddie, but it was something deeper than being acquaintances... maybe even deeper than friendship.
"If you fall for him and have to leave, it'll break both of you. It's up to you what you do, but I don't want you to get hurt, Rich."
"Who says I'm falling for him?" Richie snarled, crossing his arms and glaring daggers at Bev.
"I see the way you look at him, Richie. I just want you to be careful."
Richie rolled his eyes. "I can take care of myself. I've been doing it since day one anyways."
Bev shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
With that, she left to the kitchen, leaving Richie alone staring out at the sea. He stayed there for a while before soft footsteps approached him, the wood creaking beneath. Richie turned to see Eddie approaching him, his hair messy from sleeping and not having showered for a few days.
"Hey," Richie said as Eddie stood beside him, looking out to the sea. "Sleep well?"
"Yeah, thanks," Eddie mumbled before yawning and smiling. "It's beautiful, you know?"
"What?"
"The ocean. I've never been allowed to see it."
Richie furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "You're Lucantian. Can't you do whatever you want?" he asked, hopping up on the side of the ship and letting his legs dangle over the edge.
"Get down from there! You'll hurt yourself!" Eddie cried out, grabbing Richie's arm. "And no, we couldn't do whatever we wanted. It depends on your parents."
Richie laughed and pulled his arm away. "I'm fine, Eds. I've been in more danger than this. And does that mean you had the crazy parents? I mean, obviously your mom is wack and wants to kill off my entire race."
"If you fall and drown-"
"I can swim."
Eddie glared at him. "My mom is insane but my dad's okay. I expect they'll come looking for me though."
"Why?"
"What?"
Richie shrugged. "Why would they come looking?"
"Why wouldn't they?" Eddie asked, feeling sort of hurt but almost wishing they wouldn't look for him.
"In Tenebris, if you manage to escape, we don't come looking. The goal of life there is to get away, so it's a good thing if you disappear. Sure, we may be worried, but it's a personal choice."
Eddie bit his lip. "Luceat is more of a prison than any restraint I've been in. Adulthood isn't until we're twenty one and our parents have full control."
Richie laughed. "Thank god I'm not one. I wouldn't be able to stand Maggie having control over my choices and she probably wouldn't be able to tolerate it either."
"Is Maggie your mom?"
Richie nodded. "Best woman I've ever met. She took me in when no one else would."
Eddie frowned. "They don't give you families?"
"Eds, I don't think you understand how much Luceat mistreats Tenebris. We don't have food, water, or clothes unless we make an effort to get it. We're on our own."
Eddie looked even more upset. "I'm sorry."
"You didn't do anything."
"But I'm part of the group of people that mistreats you. I thought you were a killer, but you're not. I mean, you killed someone, but it was to protect me." He sighed and climbed up next to Richie, leaning his head on Richie's shoulder. "You're different than anyone I've ever met."
Richie felt his heart jump into his throat. "Yeah, you are too."
Eddie turned so they were facing each other, both hesitant and unsure how to correctly respond to the current situation.
They were from two different worlds and they didn't know each other.
Why was it so difficult to look away?
"I don't know what I feel, Richie," Eddie whispered, holding eye contact.
Richie acknowledged that that had been among the only times Eddie had used his real name. He took in a shaky breath and lifted his hand up, touching Eddie's cheek.
"I don't know either. Do you want to find out?" Richie whispered, leaning in gently.
Eddie nodded, still holding eye contact when he leaned in. Eventually he allowed his eyes to flutter shut, his heart pounding against his chest.
He could feel Richie's breath against his lips, but he didn't want to pull away. He should've. Tenebrians and Lucantians can't like each other.
Yet, he didn't.
Their lips had brushed against each other when someone yelled out behind them.
"Hey, breakfast!" came Mike's voice.
Eddie's eyes flew open and he panicked, slipping off the edge of the ship and plummeting into the water below.
——————
Sorry for the inactivity! I've been hella busy today
