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Edward Kaspbrak was not a man of subtlety. He’s been mentioning facts about children for a long as Richie could remember, and that was long before they began to date. It probably stemmed from the fact that he wanted to prove everyone wrong and become something so much better than whatever his mother did. So, with that in mind, Richie set off to find someone who would be willing to let them adopt a child or something along the lines.
The soon-to-be-famous comedian scraped up all the money that he had and pushed it into a savings account to find them a child. There was only one person he told, and that was Beverly. For more than one reason, of course. Firstly, because he couldn’t keep such a secret to himself, and secondly, she’d somehow find out, besides he wanted it to be a surprise for Eddie.
With over thirty failed adoptions, Richie was holding out hope against hope that someone would look at this couple and see how amazing Eddie is so he could let them adopt a child.
Finally, his prayer had been answered. He was sitting on their bed, biting at the skin around his nails, a nervous tick he had picked up from his mother.
“Please, you don’t understand… I know we’re a little young, but I swear to God… Eddie would make the most amazing dad. I mean, he’s already there… Me? I’m still learning, but with him, I know that I will do my best… But he’s just a father without a kid… and I can’t give him a child, and it kills all the time knowing that I can’t do that for him. I know that it’s a long shot, but please, please just look inside your heart and see that we would be perfect for this child.” He begged, feeling tears burn at his water lines.
He felt so defeated right now, not wanting to hear another ‘I’m sorry’ for as long as he lived. He could feel his chest collapsing and the hope he held inside of him burning out, leaving him charred and broken to pieces.
“Okay, how about I meet you and your husband tomorrow to discuss coming to the ultrasounds?” The woman asked quietly as Richie’s eyes snapped open from shock.
“Are--Are you serious?” He felt his hands begin to shake from the happiness bubbling inside of him.
“Yeah, maybe at the Davis’ Diner on fourth street? Say around three?” She questioned, causing him to nod as if she could see him.
“Yes! Yes, thank you so much. We’ll see you then.” He chuckles softly before hanging up the phone. He held it against his chest, trying to calm the thundering beat of his heart as he leaned back in his chair.
He glanced up towards the room they all have dubbed as ‘Eddie’s study,’ and typing away at his computer was Eddie; he was working on a project for his new job as a risk analyst. Richie’s eyes softened at the tension on the poor man’s shoulders from his workload.
“Hey Eds, I got dinner almost finished. You hungry?” He asked, walking over to Eddie. He took a glance at the mirror in the hallway, checking to make sure his eyes were puffy or red from crying. Thankfully, he was okay.
He smacked a kiss to the top of Eddie’s head before looking over the words displayed on the screen when Eddie finally sighed and sat back in his chair.
“Yeah, I’ll be out in a moment,” Eddie promised softly, not taking his eyes away from his work, which made Richie pout.
“You’ve been working hard on this. You need a break before you melt out that poor overworked brain of yours,” He teased lightheartedly, earning a scowl from Eddie.
His mouth opened to protest Richie’s words, possibly with a resort of a few colorful words when he cut himself off. Richie’s long, bony fingers began digging into the knots that have made themselves a home in Eddie’s shoulder blades.
Eddie’s eyes fluttered shut as a moan of pain escaped passed his lips before leaning his cheek against Richie’s forearms. He shivered at the hot relief that coursed through his body while Richie continued to work out the kinks in his muscles.
“See, look at that. You’re tighter than your mom’s--” Whatever he was going to save was cut off by a swift slap to the thigh. “Agh! You fucking dick!” He laughs before licking at Eddie’s cheek.
“Oh, gross! You know I hate you doing that!” He groans, swiping at the saliva with one hand and pushing Richie away with the other before they both started to laugh.
“Come on, Workaholic, it’s time to eat. I promise this will all still be here when you get back.” He comments as Eddie nods, standing up from his chair, which caused his spine to crack.
They were both silent for a moment when Eddie pointed a warning finger at him.
“Not a single word from the peanut gallery,” He huffs, looking at Richie; he mimicked zipping his lips and throwing away the key.
The duo walked down the steps of their shared apartment before making a b-line for the kitchen. It wasn’t a huge kitchen, but it was big enough for the soon-to-be three.
“You got off tomorrow, right?” Richie set the food down onto the table before sitting down across from Eddie.
“For once, but I’ll probably go out shopping. It is my turn for groceries after all.” He explains, taking a bite of his dinner.
“Actually, do you think that maybe I could go with you? Make it a date?” He grins, wiggling his eyebrows, which made Eddie’s face flush gently.
“I mean… I don’t see why not.” He murmurs before noticing a weird emotion swirling within Richie’s irises. “Are you okay?” He tilted his head, causing the raven-haired man to blink at him.
“What? Of course! Why wouldn’t I be?” He frowns, tapping at his scruffy looking face. “What? Is my complexion too much for your eyes to handle?” He batted his eyelashes, making Eddie snort softly.
“More like your complexion makes it look like you haven’t slept in thirty days and only run on caffeine and junk food.” He resorts when Richie’s jaw drops in offense.
“Ass!” He exclaims, placing his hand onto his chest before shaking his head. “And I even made dinner like a good little house husband! So ungrateful!” He swoons as Eddie starts to laugh at his antics.
“You’re such a dumbass sometimes. But I guess you’re mine.” He sighs solemnly before they both start to laugh.
Eddie can truly say that he’s never felt happier than when he is with Richie, which is saying a lot considering all Richie has ever done is make horrible jokes. He didn’t think he could be happy after the horrible childhood, but all the losers stuck together when they left Derry. The clown had bonded them in ways that no one could even begin to understand. They were a tight group and only let Stan’s new wife Patty into their little circle after she proved how much she loved Stan.
“No-take-backsies.” Richie shrugs, bringing Eddie back to reality. Eddie took notice of Richie playing with his food; he was about to ask what’s wrong when Richie spoke, “You know I love you, right?” He asked quietly, making Eddie blink in shock.
“Of course, I do. You know that I love you, right?” He questioned as Richie nodded quickly. “Good… Now, what did you do?” His sharp gaze bored into Richie. He shrugged in response as Eddie crossed his arms and sat back against his chair. “Richie--” He’s cut off by Richie waving his hands.
“You’ll see it tomorrow. But--I--I promise it’s nothing bad.” He assured quickly, but his tone left no room for argument.
“Richard Wentworth Kaspbrak-Tozier, what did you do?” He demanded slowly, making Richie wince.
“Ooh, why did you have to bring out the full name?” He pouts before shaking his head. “I guess you’ll find out tomorrow.” He grins before shoving food into his mouth so he couldn’t speak anymore.
Eddie didn’t look too convinced, but Richie immediately changed the topic of conversation to something else so Eddie couldn’t grill him for information anymore. Soon the comedian was listening to his beloved husband banter about people at his work who were absolute dumbasses that were going to send him into an early grave.
Eddie had been ranting so much that he didn’t notice the lovestruck look on Richie’s face as he watched Eddie. The younger man gestured wildly as Richie’s mind began to wonder about what Eddie’s face would look like when he found out what the surprise was.
That night, after washing dishes and getting showers, Richie was crawling into bed. Eddie was already fast asleep due to the stress he’s been through. Richie leaned down, smacking a kiss to Eddie’s cheek before he pulled Eddie back against his chest. He loved being the big spoon because having Eddie in his arms made all the struggles he’s faced worth it.
Eddie immediately turned around in his arms before burying his face into Richie’s chest, causing Richie’s face to flush red. He smiles before leaning forward and pressing his lips to Eddie’s forehead before placing another one on his temple.
“You are going to be the best fucking dad.” He whispered against Eddie’s temple before his eyes fluttered shut, and sleep consumed him.
It was the sun shining through the curtains that woke Richie up. He grunted softly, rolling over only to find Eddie’s side of the bed empty and cold. His eyes snapped open as he looked around the room to see if his beloved was there, but he was alone.
That’s when the door opened, causing his head to jerk towards the sound. Eddie stepped into the room carrying a tray of food and two cups of coffee resting on the tray. The two shared a smile as Richie sat up with a chuckle.
“Oh, wow, breakfast in bed? If you wanted me to put out, Eds, all you had to do was ask.” He grins, making Eddie roll his eyes.
“Shut up and eat your breakfast, you absolute wet noodle.” Eddie snorts before taking his cup of coffee.
“Thank you,” Richie comments before taking a drink of his own. “Mm, good coffee,” Richie moans softly.
“How would you know? It’s mostly creamer in that cup.” Eddie points out.
“That’s how you know it’s good coffee. Get a little hint of coffee with my creamer.” He flashes him a grin.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“No, you’re ridiculous. The only people who drink coffee black are really old people and people who want to punish themselves for no good reason.” Richie resorts.
“Eat your breakfast.” Eddie huffs playfully as Richie dug into his pancakes.
“So, what is on the agenda for today? Where all shall we be going?” He asked, looking up to Eddie.
“Probably just the mall. We can get everything we need in one place. I need to look for a new belt, and you need new shoes because you’re a psychopath who wears out his shoes in like two uses.” He points out.
“What can I say? It’s a gift.” Richie shrugs with a grin.
Eddie stood up before he started to get dressed, sipping at his coffee after he was done. Soon Richie finished his coffee and his breakfast before setting the tray on the floor and standing up. He stretched out before moaning out at the feeling of his body cracking back into place.
“Alright, I’m going to get dressed, brush my teeth, and then we can get going,” Richie explains, glancing at the clock. With how efficient Eddie is with shopping, Richie wasn’t too worried about being late to meet Betty at the diner.
Of course, it was at that moment that Eddie pulled out a list of things they needed. He began to ramble them off while Richie got dressed. He smiles softly at Eddie; he wasn’t even paying attention to Richie at that point.
After they got outside, Eddie complained about Richie not wearing a jacket since it was mid-fall and he was going to get sick. Richie’s mind thought on a tiny little bundled up child with Eddie towering over them, adding more layers to keep them from the cold.
“Are you even listening to me?” Eddie huffed as Richie started driving down the road.
“Mmm, nope. Should I be?” Richie grins at Eddie’s scoff before turning his attention back on the road. “Alright, let’s make this quick, yeah?” He asked.
“What? Why? Something important you need to attend to? I mean, you didn’t have to come. You were the one who insisted on coming.” Eddie frowns.
“No, no, I mean… The surprise?” Richie asked, hoping it would ring some bells. “I just--I’m antsy, and I wanna see your face. Is that so wrong?” Richie tilted his head to look at Eddie.
“No, but if you would just tell me the surprise, you would already know. Besides, you know I don’t really like surprises.” He points out.
“Trust me; you’ll love this one.” Richie grins before pulling into the parking lot of the plaza.
The two began to walk around the mall. Richie held Eddie’s hand as the shorter of the two dragged him off towards the stores that they needed items from. Richie was off in his own world, letting Eddie drag him along when suddenly Richie bumped into Eddie. He stepped back a few steps so he could look at Eddie and see why he had stopped.
Richie’s eyes flickered to where Eddie was looking. He was staring into a display area that had baby clothes and small toys hanging on the walls. Richie glanced back to Eddie, taking in the look of longing that made Richie’s heart cease up painfully. He looked back to the display and thought about the future of Eddie with their child.
He squeezed Eddie’s hand, bringing him back from his little fantasy before offering a smile to him. “You wanna go in there?” He asked, causing Eddie’s face to flush.
“Nuh--No, no… We shouldn’t. We don’t have a child.” He points out with a grim expression.
“Still, wouldn’t hurt to look right?” Richie asked, glancing down at his watch. “You want me to take this stuff to the car? I’ll be right back.” He promised before rushing off with their stuff.
After he came back to the store, Eddie was already deep into the back of the store. Richie finally caught up to him, watching as Eddie looked over the small clothing with a fond grin. He walked up to him before taking Eddie’s hand, causing him to jolt before looking at Eddie.
“See anything you like?” Richie asked.
“I see a lot of things. I would love to buy all of these.” He whispered before biting his lip softly.
“How about we buy something? If nothing else, we can give it to Stan and Patty-cakes?” He offers when Eddie looks at him.
“Yeah, I guess we could,” Eddie comments softly before looking at all of the clothing again. “I like this one.” He held up a small yellow onesie with little ducks on it.
“That’s so cute. And perfect since yellow is a gender-neutral color.” Richie chuckles softly. His heart was fluttering excitedly at the glitter of happiness in Eddie’s eyes. Who knew something so simple could make Eddie look like an absolute angel?
“I like this one.” He confirmed before looking at Richie.
“Alright, then we’ll get that one.” He grins before they went towards the front of the store. He knew they would be back; even if this adoption didn’t work, Richie would make sure one of them would.
“Well, we got done a lot quicker than even I anticipated.” Eddie chuckles softly.
“Yeah, you getting hungry? It’s almost three.”
“Hm, yeah, I could use a bite to eat. Where do you wanna go?”
“How about Davis? I want a cheeseburger and their seasoned fries.” Richie grins before opening the car door for Eddie.
The car ride was a little quiet; only the sound of the radio was playing through the speakers. It wasn’t an awkward silence, more of an understanding of the reason behind the quietness. Richie didn’t make a joke or try to break the silence. He reached over and squeezed Eddie’s hand gently, never taking his eyes off the road.
Richie turned off the car before locking the doors, causing Eddie to frown. Richie’s heart thundered against his chest as he looked over to Eddie. The two locked eyes as two different emotions swirled between them, fear and longing.
“Okay, Eddie, there's something I need to tell you before we go in here. This is where the surprise is.” He gestured, making Eddie’s head jerk towards the building to see if he could see anything. “It’s nothing grand like you think it is. But we are going to meet someone here.” He explained quietly.
“Okay? Why? Richie, you’re kinda freaking me out here.” He huffs when Richie chuckles, tearing up.
“Do you trust me?” Richie asked instead.
“What? Why?”
“Do you trust me, Eds?” He asked again.
“You know I do, even if I don’t want to.” Eddie snorts softly.
“Then trust me right now, more than you’ve ever trusted me.” He begged, taking Eddie’s hands into his own before squeezing them gently.
Without waiting for Eddie to respond, Richie unlocked the doors and got out of the car. He leans down before flashing Eddie a quick grin, causing the younger one to roll his eyes and get out of the car.
“This better be good.” He grumbled, following after Richie.
They both stepped into the restaurant, taking in a warm atmosphere and the scent of good food. Richie’s head tilted as he looked around the restaurant before finally locking eyes with Betty. He grabbed Eddie’s hand before walking him over to Betty.
“Oh, you made it.” Betty smiles, going to stand up when Richie waved his hand.
“Of course, you don’t need to get up for us. It’s a pleasure to meet you face to face finally. He doesn’t know why we’re meeting you.” He explains softly as Betty looked at Eddie before smiling.
“Well, I hope you don’t freak out too much.” She chuckles, causing Eddie to look between the two.
“Freak out about what?” Eddie huffs, growing impatient.
“Eddie, this is Miss. Betty Novak. She’s the lady who has been so gracious enough to let us adopt her baby.” He comments quietly, causing Eddie’s eyes to widen. He jerked his head to look at Richie.
“She--She what?” He asked, feeling his throat close up from the overwhelming emotions burning through him.
“Yes, we came here to discuss how this is going to work. She wanted to know if we wanted to come to her ultrasounds and everything.” He explains as Eddie started to nod his head immediately.
“Yes, yes, of course!” He gasps, feeling tears start to trickle down his face as he looks at Betty.
“Richie and I already went over the paperwork,” Betty explains with a warm smile. “I’m not showing just yet, but then again, I’m only about to be three months in.”
“How long have you been planning this?” Eddie asked in shock. “You can’t keep a secret to save your life!” He exclaims, causing Richie to laugh.
“Two… Two years.” Richie chokes up slightly. “I’ve been going to couples after couples in hopes that they would agree. Betty and I started talking about a month ago.” He chuckles before Eddie surged forward and hugged Richie tightly.
“You asshole, how could you make me cry in public!” He huffs softly before laughing as he looks up to Richie.
“Because you did it when you proposed, so I think it’s a fair trade.” Richie grins at Eddie.
Richie gestured for Eddie to sit down before sliding down next to him. They both looked to Betty as she chuckles softly at their antics. Eddie took Richie’s hand into his own, squeezing it tightly as they began to talk to her about what Richie and Betty had already discussed.
It was about closer to five-thirty when they left, promising to see Betty on Friday for their first ultrasound together. Richie glanced at Eddie when they were back in the car. Eddie had been rather quiet after Betty had left, which kind of worried Richie.
“Eds, you okay?” He asked softly before Eddie slowly looked at him.
“You… You are the best thing that has come out of all the shit in my life.” Eddie smiles, causing Richie to blink in shock.
“Eddie--” He’s cut off by Eddie surging across the console between them and jerking Richie into a passionate kiss.
Richie grins before cupping Eddie’s face and deepening the kiss. The two got lost in each other as they have done so many times before.
“I love you so much,” Eddie whispered when he pulled away.
“I love you too… so much,” Richie promised quietly. “I’m just glad it finally worked. I’ve been keeping this inside for two years. All because I wanted to see that dumb face of your smile. You’re going to be the best fricking dad in the world… And I’m the one who gets to witness all of it.” Richie smiles.
“What about you?” Eddie asked with a tilt of his head.
“What about me?” Richie frowns.
“Don’t you think you are going to be a good dad?”
“Oh, fuck no.” Richie bursts out laughing. “I am going to suck so hard, but… but as long as I have you… I think I have a chance of being a good Pop, hm?” He asked before petting at his five o’clock shadow. “Might grow out a beard and get salt and pepper hair.” He grins as Eddie started to laugh.
“How is your hair going to be grey when you haven’t even hit thirty yet?” Eddie held his stomach as he laughs harder.
“Um, duh, I’ll dye it. Come on, Eds! Keep up with the times’ old man!” He snorts.
“So, you’ll be the cool trendy Pop, and I’ll be the worry-some Dad who plans and organizes everything?” Eddie asked.
“God, you’ll be so frickin hot pulling out a calendar for play dates.” Richie laughs when Eddie pushes at him.
“Says the hot Pop who is gonna wear socks and sandals together.” Eddie chuckles.
“I’m gonna fucking rock the shit out of them, too!” He grins before looking at Eddie again. “But… You’re okay with this surprise?” He asked softly.
“I’m more than okay with this surprise, Richie. I can’t wait to meet them.” He smiles before they shared one more quick kiss and went home.
Maybe Richie will show him the nursery he had created. I mean, Eddie thinks that it’s Richie’s workroom. Or maybe he’ll wait for another day.
Richie stole a glance at Eddie; his beloved was looking over the onesie they bought with the biggest grin on his face. Oh yeah, Richie knew Eddie was always meant to be a dad, and seeing this only proved it.