˗ˏˋsoft ; reddie ; in which eddie and richie are childhood best friends
word count ; 723
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"eddie! eds! eddie spaghetti! come on, get up." richie called, playfully pulling on his best friends arm in an attempt to convince him to play on the grass with him. eddie was convinced if he even set foot on that grass his allergies would act up, or he'd need his inhaler. something his mother could shout at him for.
eds shrugged, putting his book onto the table and looking up to meet richie's magnified eyes. his glasses slipped down his nose and richie hesitantly pushed them back up. "my allergies rich, my asthma..." he trailed off, shrugging and looking at the ground. richie's hand creeped onto his shoulder, the other reached into his pocket as he crouched down to meet eds height from where he was sat on the chair.
richie pulled a familiar coloured baby blue inhaler from his short pockets - eddie's mouth fell open. richie suppressed a giggle, shoving it back into his pocket and pressing a finger to eds' lips to shush him "don't ask how i got it. i just figured as we're best friends..." his words trailed off, shrugging it off as if it was nothing. eddie watched in bewilderment, eyes wide and mouth agape. "what do you say, eds? we can play whatever you want..."
he allowed richie to pull him to his feet "hold my hand, rich. the other kids are... big." he shrugged, smiling when rich's fingers interlocked with him. he felt safe, protected. protected from the older school bullies, from his mother, from the dangers of the world. because richie tozier had more impact on eds than the negative affect of the thought of germs.
rich nodded in agreement, despite the fact he was growing fast - almost catching up with the older kids' height. eddie was slightly jealous, richie was never teased for his small stature, or his petite frame. "i guess they are pretty big, eddie spaghetti."
eddie scoffed, shaking his head "don't call me eddie spaghetti, you know i hate that rich!" he spoke desperately, a pout forming on his lips. richie just giggled - he knew their was a part deep down inside of eds that actually enjoyed the silly nickname he had awarded eddie with the day they had met.
"sorry, eds." richie commented, awaiting the usual response of 'rich! richie don't call me eds! you know i hate that. my name is eddie! edward! eddie! call me that... please rich?' – but it never came, which surprised the curly haired boy so much that he almost fell over. he shook the feelings off, plastering his lips with a smile and turning to eds "whatcha' wanna play eds? tag?"
he nodded enthusiastically, dropping richie's hand and jumping forwards to gently touch his chest "tag! you're it." a giggle escaped from between his lips, as he turned on his heels and began to run across the green grass. he was a slow runner, but rich had never seen the boy this happy.
a smile was glued across his face, his eyes crinkled and his lips upturned as he skipped around the grass. every few seconds he would turn his head to take a look at richie ; who always made sure he was running slower than he was actually capable of. "i can't keep up, eds! you're too fast for me." richie joked, watching as eddie came to a halt.
he turned to face rich, holding his hand out for him. richie watched the way eddie's chest rose and fell heavily with each breath that he took "need your inhaler, eds?" he questioned, taking eddie's hand gently in his.
eds' thought for a moment, undecided and torn between whether he did really need it. after a few seconds, he shook his head. sure - he was out of breath, but not to the point of panic. it was normal for a kid who was barely allowed to exercise out of fear of being hurt to get out of breath, right? at least that was the conclusion both rich and eds drew up that day.
the two boys continued to play, chasing each other and allowing their loud innocent laughter to fill the air. the hot summer sun beamed down on the two of them, eddie's warm skin glowing in the light.
the two were happy - young ; pure ; and happy.
