Ben and Beverly got a lot done in the half hour that passed. Beverly swept the ground as best she could and piled all the dirt to the corners of the hideout. "Hopefully that'll block out the spiders and other bugs," she said and set the handheld broom on the table. Eddie rolled his head over to where Ben was working on some lights. He brought over a bunch of little flashlights and was positioning them in a way where'd they light up the whole hideout.

From above, bike tires skidded across the earth. "Eds?" Richie called out, approaching the trapdoor. "Down here," he said. Ben and Beverly both paused, the latter glancing between the two with a small smile on her face. "Hello there, Rich," she said. Richie jumped down into the hideout, landing almost perfectly. "Nice one," Ben said and Richie bowed. Eddie rolled his eyes and stood up off the swing.

"Hey Rich, Ben and I can leave if you need to talk to Eddie," Beverly suggested and Richie shook his head. "Nah, you lovebirds can stay down here. Eds and I need to go back to my own house," he said.

"Wait-" Beverly butted in. "Lovebirds? Seriously?"

Richie turned to her fully as he shrugged. "The two of you are always hanging out." Beverly stepped forward, starting to get defensive. "And? It's because that's what friends do. They hang out." Richie threw up his hands, silently surrendering.

"Okay, Eds, we gotta go before Beverly decides to pummel me to the ground," He explained, gently grabbing the boys wrist and leading him to the ladder. "Why are we leaving?" Eddie asked and pulled his wrist back. Richie grabbed at the ladder and leaned back. "Dearest old pops of mine," he said in a mocking voice, "saw me sneaking back in so now I'm grounded for a week."

Beverly laughed softly. "How loud were you when you snuck back in?" Richie made a face at her and pulled himself closer to the ladder.

Eddie turned back to his friends and said goodbye as Richie climbed up the ladder. "See you guys. Good luck on the hideout," he said. Beverly and Ben both waved. Richie got to the outside, his feet scraping against the earth. Dirt tumbled down the ladder and hit Eddie in the face.

He snapped his head down and quickly wiped the earth from his hair and face. "Richie, you fucknut! You got dirt in my eyes." Richie brushed his hand on the ground, throwing more dirt down. "Richie! I just cleaned that!" Beverly said as she stepped forward.

Richie laughed out and disappeared from their view. "Eds! Ándale!" He said as he got onto his bike. Eddie huffed and climbed the ladder, apologizing to Beverly when he accidentally kicked more dirt down.

Eddie walked alongside Richie as he maneuvered his bike over tree roots and holes in the earth. He brought his wrist to his mouth as he yawned, his shoulders falling. He seemed like he could collapse at any moment. Richie watched him out of the corner of his eye. "You alright there?" He asked and Eddie nodded. "I.. I'm fucking tired, Rich," he mumbled out and rubbed an eye.

Richie looked him up and down and that's when he finally noticed how.. off Eddie looked. His usually clean clothes were twisted and stained, brown lines marked under his eyes. He braked and set one foot on the ground. Eddie paused too, turning to look at Richie. "Why'd you stop?" He asked. Richie tugged at Eddie's shirt with a small smile on his face. "Is it really that much of a fucking dump down there?" Eddie shuffled away, his shirt pulling out of Richie's grasp. "Yeah, it is," he mumbled, playing along with Richie's excuse.

Eddie started to walk away again but when he heard no feet kick off and tires crunching on dirt, he turned back around. "Aren't you coming?" Richie rolled his bike forward to where Eddie stood and before he could start walking away again, Richie grabbed his shoulders.

He casted a glance behind his shoulder to the trapdoor before turning back to Eddie. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Eddie's lips. Eddie grabbed his shoulder, returning the kiss. The two broke away and Richie grinned. "Rich, we're out in public," Eddie whispered, his eyes flickering up to Richie's. He breathed out a laugh and grabbed his bike handles. "Says the one who just kissed me back." Eddie rolled his eyes and placed his hands where Richie's just were, keeping the warmth.

~~~

Richie unlocked the front door to the house, the cool air instantly cooling down Eddie's heated skin. He stepped inside and was very tempted to lay down on the ground and fall asleep.

"Want something to eat?" Richie asked as he closed and locked the front door. Eddie mumbled something and headed to the living room. "What'd you say?" He asked. Eddie didn't respond, even he himself didn't know what he just said.

Eddie stumbled over to the couch and instantly fell onto it. Richie followed him across the room, watching him with worried eyes. He sensed something wrong and decided against speaking. Richie sat down next to Eddie, the two sitting in silence.

Eddie glanced over at Richie and breathed in deeply, dread tickling at his stomach. oh god should i do it? He fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He swallowed thickly and made his decision.

Slowly, Eddie rested his head on Richie's shoulder. The two froze, their hearts pounding in their chests. The thought Eddie had made the wrong decision popped into his brain, but quickly left when Richie gently grabbed his hand. A small smile appeared on Eddie's face, he intertwined their fingers.

Richie breathed in deeply and leaned his head against Eddie's. His heart never once stopped beating hard. holy fuuucccckkkk!!!! eddie's on my shoulder fuck yes beat that stanley and bevvy. fucking. beat. that.