Reddie Oneshots

reddie eating disorder fic part 18 FINALE

happy ending :)

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-THREE YEARS LATER-

He woke up to the whirring of a fan propped up on an unpacked box and the heat from an uncovered window against his back. He twisted uncomfortably feeling the sweat-damp against his naked body and kicked off the covers, but it didn't make it a lot better.

He sat up and blinked around their small apartment room hearing the footsteps from their neighbors above and the cars outside. Rolling out of bed he moved over to the fan, moving the knob to the highest setting and sighing in relief when the blades moved faster pushing more cool air onto his face.

Stepping around labeled boxes of clothes and junk that he decided would come with, Eddie moved into their connecting bathroom and turned on the lights, a sharp artificial yellow light blinding him. Seconds pass before his eyes adjust and he is able to relieve himself without a pain in his eyes. He flushes and turns on the sink, washing his hands and brushing his teeth.

Standing shirtless in front of the mirror his eyes fall to his skin. He turns to both sides and moves around watching how his ribs appear and disappear under the skin. The last three years haven't been easy, he's been inpatient twice and he doesn't even remember how many days he spent with a feeding tube up his nose, dripping nutrients into his system.

He's fasted for weeks and then fainted at the gas station trying to buy diet coke and a box of laxatives. He's cut so deep, nobody thought he would be saved. The relapses have been countless, and he was tired of being caught in a circle of eating normally and then eating nothing. But he comes out of them every time a little stronger.

He's not fully recovered, but he's getting there.

Spitting into the sink and gargling with water he feels the spots where two of his molars are missing, gone from being broken down and ruined from stomach acid. He runs his fingers through his hair and feels where his hair is beginning to grow again after falling out from malnutrition. He takes a deep breath before reaching into the medicine cabinet to take his pills for anemia, and then for bone pain, and then for OCD.

His body almost shut down... and now it's his choice to care for it. Nourish it.

He didn't deserve what happened to him, he doesn't deserve to have an emancipated body or to be so small he feels invisible. He's a force to be reckoned with, and Patrick knows that firsthand after he was sentenced to prison for what he did to Eddie.

It's like the book to his old life is closing.

This is a new book.

"Spaghetti! Open up!"

Eddie jumps as Richie pounds on the door and he unlocks it, facing Richie.

"I don't have anything important to do, I just wanted to kiss you."

"You scared me!"

"Sorry?" Richie laughs, kissing him. Richie moves into the bathroom and pulls his shirt over his head, tucking it into his jeans. He reaches for his toothbrush and turns on the sink as Eddie slides onto the counter, watching him.

"Duh yuh ha' chlass tuhday?" Richie asks while the toothbrush is still in his mouth, toothpaste foaming at the edges of his mouth.

"Yes. Not until later though. It's only communications, I might not even go."

He's a freshman at the University of Southern Maine, and Richie decided to come with him for the ride. They bought a run-down, slum apartment 12 minutes away from the college and are living on pennies, but they couldn't ask for anything better.

Richie's in a band and working at a pizzeria, delivering pizza's and telling jokes for tips while Eddie is doing an internship at a car dealership and studying.

Richie spits into the sink and wipes his mouth. Eddie smiles at him and rubs off the bit of toothpaste left on his chin. "I love you."

Richie's hands go around Eddie's hips then tap his bottom, kissing him on the nose. "I love you too, baby boy. I'll be back tonight. Wanna eat pizza?"

"Because it's free?"

"Exactly."

Eddie giggles. "Of course. I'll be here waiting for you."

They pull apart and Eddie tucks away the tag on Richie's pizzeria shirt. "Have a good day at work."

"Have a good day being you," Richie says before leaving, locking the apartment door behind him. Eddie jumps off the counter and looks at the clock, 12 pm, 3 hours until communications class.

He puts on his sweatpants and one of Richie's shirts and his old sneakers and goes for a run. He likes the way the sun feels on his skin, how he feels when he's running through the air and how clear his mind is.
The bird's tweet and cars pass on the busy streets of Portland, Maine trying to get back to work from their lunch break. He runs by it all, going through neighborhoods and down city streets before he gets back into the apartment, sitting down on the couch with a huff.

He takes off his running shoes and closes his eyes feeling the emptiness in his stomach and running a hand over it. He stands up and turns to the kitchen, getting a bowl, the milk, and a box of cereal.

Eddie makes himself breakfast.