˗ˏˋ soft ; in which eddie sleeps over at richie's house and is too nervous to sleep with his teddy bear, even though he can't sleep without it
word count ; 1178
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EDDIE SIGHED to himself, laying his head onto the soft pillow and wriggling his body in an attempt to get comfortable on the floor. richie had offered him his bed, but eddie politely declined – he insisted that he would prefer sleeping on the floor, and despite the fact richie didn't believe him he didn't press the issue any further.
his mind continued to drift to the beige childhood teddy named buttons, stuffed inside his rucksack– all alone in a dark place. eddie couldn't sleep without him, just like the way he couldn't sleep without a light on. of course the small boy was too embarrassed to tell richie either of these things.
so he just laid on the floor of richie's bedroom, eyes squeezed shut and arms wrapped around his delicate waist in an attempt to get himself to sleep. his eyelids were heavy and his head was pounding, but he just couldn't let himself fall asleep without the aid of his comfort items.
he just wanted to feel the soft fur of his teddy bear rub against the skin of his face as he drifted into a cozy sleep, he yearned for the dim yellow lighting that came from the night light in his bedroom at home.
a sigh escaped his lips, grabbing richie's attention.
richie tozier had awoken from a dream just a few minutes previously – and now his head was filled with all kinds of gay panic. because holy shit, that precious little crush of his was in his room and he was staying the night. sure he was lying on his floor, but that's one step away from joining him on the slightly uncomfortable mattress, right?
"eddie." richie whispered, his messy curls leaning over the side of the bed to get a better look at eddie in the dark room. eds looked up at him with wide eyes, apparently startled. richie leaned over and flicked the switch of his bedside lamp on and eddie let out a breath of relief that he hadn't realised he was holding "why are you awake?"
eds found himself gazing at richie's face. constellations of freckles that littered his cheeks became more apparent when the thick glasses weren't placed on the bridge of his nose "couldn't sleep." he replied simply, struggling and looking at the floor.
richie's nose scrunched up, he tilted his head a little and watched as eddie's eyes continued to dart back to his rucksack – where his teddy was "did you forget to take your medication? need your inhaler? i can get it for you if you want." rich swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"no! rich, nothing like that. just leave it. kay?" a sigh fell from his lips, making richie frown. rich scooted to the edge of his bed, and patted the space next to it. a blush creeped onto eds' cheeks as he hauled himself onto the bed and allowed richie to tuck eddie in, before wrapping his arm around his waist.
"what? you got dildos in there or something, eds?" richie laughed to himself, his body shaking and sending vibrations through eddie. eddie bit his lip, shrugging and squeezing his eyes shut. rich understood that the petite boy wasn't in the right frame of mind for his jokes and made a mental note not to make any more.
eddie buried his face into richie's chest, comforted by the sound of richie's heartbeat which seemed to increase whenever eds moved just a centimetre closer to his best friend. richie found his hands buried in eddie's hair, playing with the locks and shushing him in a comforting manner.
it made sense for eds to be out of his comfort zone when sleeping round a friends house – it wasn't the constantly cleaned, tidy bedroom that he was used to. his usual routine was thrown out of the window to spend the night with richie.
rich allowed eddie to wrap his legs around him, to move his head closer and look up at him with those brown doe eyes that made his heart melt, despite the fact his heart felt as if it could break through his rib cage at any moment. he just wanted eddie to be comfortable in his company. "you can tell me anything, you know? i'm not always gonna make a big joke about everything." richie paused for a moment before sighing "i wouldn't do that to you."
eddie sighed to himself, shrugging and feeling his cheeks burn into a strawberry red shade at the thought of telling richie his secret. but richie was his best friend– he trusted him with his life. "i... i can't sleep without my, my... fuck." a sigh of frustration escaped his lips, and silence took it's place in the air again– giving richie time to think.
it clicked in his head, because richie knew eds better than anyone, better than he even knew himself "if you want your teddy go and get it, eds. i won't judge you, okay?" his words were soft and sweet, sounds of comfort falling from in between his chapped lips.
eds bit his lip, heart freezing as he came to terms with the fact richie already knew. and it's not like he was bothered – eddie guessed that he was overthinking it the entire time, and tilted his head back to lock eyes with rich "are you sure? you need to promise not to tell the other losers, okay? i won't ever hear the end of it if you do. you gotta swear." eddie rambled, sticking his pinky finger out in order to partake in a pinky promise. but richie didn't take it, instead leaning forwards and pressing his lips to the soft skin of eddie's forehead.
"go and get it... angel." richie added on the pet name at the end, lowering his voice and tone as if he was hoping eddie didn't hear it. but he did. the two boys' first taste of intimacy was making his legs shake as he stood from the bed to retrieve his teddy. his heart was racing and eddie felt as if he needed his inhaler in order to stop the swarm of butterflies that gathered in his tummy.
the smaller boy fell straight into richie's arms, his teddy tucked in between his arms as rich ensured the blanket was covering eddie in a protective manner "they're cute." richie commented, his voice a whisper as he glanced down at the bear which was pressed against his chest.
eds didn't reply, instead burying his head into the soft fabric of richie's shirt and closing his eyes tightly shut.
the wave of love hit the two boys all at once, and maybe that's just how love works. it hits you when you least expect it. the two boys had been best friends for years – constantly playfully bickering and fighting but at the end of the day, they would die for each other. perhaps that's what the strong feelings had manifested into to. feelings of care and admiration, the type only shared between two lovers.
