IT ; jade of the orient

Thick and Thin

"It's a push door, dumbass." Richie mocks Eddie as he attempts to pull the restaurant door open.

"Fuck you," Eddie fires back.

The two men make a direct bee-line to the booth the other Loser's are already seated at. Mike runs over with a wide grin and greets Richie and Eddie with a hug. Stan and Bill catch up on each other's lives while Beverly and Ben are sat leaning toward each other talking indistinctly.

"Sorry we're late. This one," Richie gestures to Eddie "doesn't know his lefts and rights and got us lost." They sit down at two spare seats in between Stan and Bev.

"Well at least we're all here now" Bev places a hand on Ben's knee.

Ben wraps his arm around his wife and smiles warmly at her.

"Y'know, I could help you guys decorate the nursery if you like" Stan takes a sip of his drink and gleams at the happy couple. Stan is always eager to help Ben and Bev with anything baby-related since him and his wife Patricia were always planning baby showers, birthdays, bar and bat mitzvahs. It seemed that Stan was gifted in knowing when a child is upset or hungry. Bill smiles softly to himself at the thought of Stanley swaddling a baby and rocking it gently in his arms. He always admires how the corner of Stan's eyes crinkle and his curly hair bounces whenever he moves.

He feels his cheeks begin to burn up and breaks eye contact to avoid detection.

"When are we going to have a baby, Eds?" Richie interrupts.

"Could you imagine little Richie-Eddie's running around? They'd set your house on fire." Mike laughs loudly, producing a snort and then laughing even harder at himself.

"Yeah, Richie would feed it Froot Loops and Kool-Aid every day," The group erupts in laughter as Ben taunts Richie.

"Froot Loops are healthy! It's in the name, FRUIT Loops!" Richie attempts to defend himself. He knows deep down that he isn't ready to have a baby, it would be too early considering he and Eddie had only just married the previous summer.

"They would be cute. They'd have Eddie's eyes and Richie's nose," Bev amuses both the men. "little assholes, though." Everyone around the table, especially Eddie, lets out a loud laugh.

It had been far too long since all the Loser's had dinner together. Sure Bev would occasionally have brunch with Richie and Eddie but that was mainly it. Marriage, babies, and domestic duties made it almost impossible to reunite every weekend. The best times of their lives was when they were laughing, in those moments nothing else mattered. No unrequited love, no loneliness, and certainly no childhood trauma could ruin their time together.