Multiversal travel can be disorienting, but there’s no need to worry! All side effects are temporary and lessen with each trip. Your body may experience several sensations at once: being pushed forward as if a hand is resting on your back, momentary and startling blindness, a gentle ringing in your head. You may have difficulty discerning whether it is hot or cold, but where you have been prodded is noticeably warmer than the rest of you. Some may suffer dizziness while others are perfectly fine. You notice that the area you are in is filled with a soft cerulean light and feels slightly humid and dark despite the glow around you. Regardless of your current state, however, the stress of transit forces your body into unconsciousness.
Waking up is another story. Or maybe it isn’t.
You find yourself in a nondescript room; sometimes with others who have found themselves in the same situation, sometimes alone. Welcome to Avagi Station, your new home.
Avagi
That First Step, it is a Doozy:
There are always risks to exploring new environments and Avagi is rich with new nooks and crannies to explore. You’re checking out a new corridor that’s been opened, though there have been signs warning that there are areas where structural stability has been weakened by neglect and the passage of time. But maybe things have been going well, you’ve found a few interesting things of note and you’re ready to head back to your bunk for the day.
Except when you turn to leave, the floor is giving way without a screech of metal. Hopefully you’ve got some good reflexes and can catch yourself before you topple down a shaft that seems to go down at least thirty or forty feet. Do you call for help or struggle to handle it on your own? And more importantly, how are you getting around this giant hole in the floor now that it’s there?
The Buddy System:
In order to help new arrivals find their bearings the more experienced residents on board have decided to try out the buddy system in order until the new arrivals get their space legs. The guide is responsible for answering any questions, showing them all the important facilities and making sure their new friend doesn’t wander anywhere too dangerous. And what better way to get to know your buddy than to try and help them find all the supplies they need to be comfortable in their new home? Hopefully the barter blocks have some clothes in your size or else it could get a little bit awkward come laundry day.
Shining Bright:
The Observation Station is the best place on Avagi to get a look at the storm that rages all around. However today when you stop by there’s something strange and new to look upon. It’s not clear if it’s a change in the environment or perhaps an effect of the living energy that opens the portals but the entire room is filled with softly glowing floating lights. If you venture into the room and dare to touch one of the lights you’ll find that you find a song playing in your mind that fills you with a deep and abiding sense of peace. What you do with that feeling is up to you but it seems that these lights aren’t going to cause any harm then why not let yourself relax in a beautiful space for a little while?
Kaittos
This month there is a portal to the planet Kaittos, a peaceful world containing one large land mass and a scattering of lived-on islands across a clear blue ocean. On the mainland, a large city-state occupies the central region and southern coast and resembles what some travelers from some versions of Earth might know of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Bustling and lively, the city is clean and well provided-for due to the temperate climate and the bountiful natural resources found on its northern side; orchards, farms and forests extend into the distance, butting up against a small mountain range. The technology level is low compared to Avagi, with carriages and candles in place rather than cars and electric lights, but the craftsmen of the world have managed some very impressive mechanical feats.
Kaittans, the local residents of the world appear somewhat humanoid, but the bipedal race has hooves rather than feet, silvery skin and three eyes with vertical pupils. Although there is no sign of any other sentient species in the world, the locals are nonetheless excited to meet their guests, rather than suspicious or afraid; for some reason, they are not surprised that aliens exist, merely that they are here.
Visitors are encouraged to explore the city and partake in an exchange of goods and ideas, to share their culture and stories with the locals. Perhaps there’s a merchant willing to trade a bauble for a story or you want to try something entirely unknown to your palette in the culinary quarter. The possibilities, while not quite limitless, are enough to keep the curious busy for quite a while.
[Bill is quiet while Eddie talks with the others, reassured by the presence of his voice that he hasn't lost the other boy. When the calls are done and Eddie is back beside him, Bill throws his arm around the smaller boy's shoulders and walks along with him that way.]
I think that's a swell idea, Eddie. We should all stick together. [And really, Richie and Bill were already accustomed to taking care of themselves without adults, anyway.]
And you've been holding up on your own so far, that can't have been easy. [A month is a long time to be alone in a strange place, for any of them, let alone for Eddie.]
(Eddie was not so accustomed. Even now, he had several adults that looked after him. Ones that cooked him meals since Eddie still hadn't gotten the hang of it yet. He was used to Sonia Kaspbrak's care, which was a whole other breed of 'adult supervision' than anything else Eddie had experienced, but all the same, he had spent years of his life not able to deny that his mother loved him dearly. That she took real good care of him.
After recovering his memories, Eddie wasn't so sure how right all that was. The weight of Bill's arm is comforting, and Eddie walks in perfect sync with him, not struggling at all under its pressure.
He looks up at Bill, feeling undeserving completely of the praise. He had been holding up okay, he wants to say, but at the same time, he feels a swell of rarely-felt pride beating its way into his chest. For Bill to compliment him...)
Awh, shucks, it really hasn't been that hard. A lot of people here care about how I'm doing.
(His face is a little red, and really, none of that touches how he dealt with...far more personal things. Things that he didn't know what to do with when his friends weren't around. But he doesn't want Bill to worry, so he doesn't mention them now.)
I mostly just missed you all. I really-. (His voice chokes out and he feels embarrassed by his own sudden rise of emotions.)
It's stupid. A month isn't even that long, but it felt a lot...more.
[Bill stops just before they reach their bikes and turns, wrapping his arms around Eddie. He can only imagine how it must have felt, showing up in this strange place where so little makes sense or feels familiar, alone and confused after everything they went through. Time is confusing, but of everything, the gap of a month when it had only been a day for Bill is something he readily accepts. Just another strange thing in a long year of terrifying and confusing things they had had to survive and get through together.
But imagining Eddie alone here, having to figure everything out on his own while still dealing with the after effects of everything they went through- memories that felt far more distant already than they had any right to and were difficult to grasp but emotions he remembers all too vividly- he can understand the emotion strangling Eddie's words just fine.]
It's not stupid, and we're here now. We'll stick together and we'll look out for each other. I won't let us get separated again. [He doesn't stutter, but he doesn't notice either. He just knows that Eddie, Richie and Stan are here, that Eddie needs them, and they need each other, and that whatever happened to take Eddie away from them before, Bill isn't letting it happen again. He'll keep the other losers close.]
A month can feel like forever wh-when you f-feel like you're alone. [He knows. The months after Georgie died had dragged so painfully slow, even when the others were around, but when they weren't, the minutes felt like hours, and the nights felt like weeks.
(Regardless of trying to hide his feelings or not, Eddie is far too weak-willed when it came to his friends, and he instantly hugs Bill back. It might sound stupid, but he needed this. Bill in particular. Bill had never once made Eddie feel like a moron, had never made him feel like the sissy that everyone else made him out to be. When Bill put it that way, Eddie didn't feel so bad about being such a baby about missing all his friends. His grip is iron-clad just then, and there's no way that he is letting Bill go if he can help it either. Nor the others. Eddie would fight that with all of his fury, kicking and screaming the entire way through.
He does eventually let go of Bill, leaning back to look up at him. His eyes had gotten wetter, the tip of his nose red, and he gives a small sniff. He blinks his eyes hard, and it helps a little to keep his eyes from leaking all over the place.)
I won't let us get separated again either. I want you guys to stay here with me.
(Not go back home. It was a no-brainer that this place, even with its strangeness, was safer and better than Derry ever had been or would be. He just hoped that the others would eventually find their way here too.)
...It can. (He'll admit that much. He'll admit that living completely alone hadn't been a great idea, but now that they were here, those hours spent hyper aware of the silence around him had been worth it. Soon, there wouldn't be silence in that suite. Soon there'd be the stuttering sound of Bill's voice, Richie's loud, stupid jokes, and Stan's smooth cutting remarks. He has to laugh, hugging Bill all over again.)
Jesus. I'm so glad you're all here.
(Finally Eddie steps back entirely, rubbing at his eyes.)
I'm gonna have to show you guys around. Introduce you to some people. It'll be fun.
That s-sounds great, Eddie. [Bill meant it, and though he felt a fierce need to protect his friends these days, he knows they have all relied on each other, especially these last few months.]
This p-place is b-beautiful. [It's good to hear Eddie laugh, especially after It, and the sewers, and before that Eddie's arm- Bowers. Bill almost forgot. How could he have? His face screws up slightly again and he looks over at Eddie.]
Ho-how's your arm? [Bill glances over at him, picking his bike back up.]
(The question is unexpected. When Eddie had come to this place, he had come in healed. It was weird and wild, and to this day he still kept touching his arm to see if it was really fixed. But it was. For the most part, anyway. He wiggles his fingers and holds his arm out, looking down at it.)
It's okay. It hurts sometimes, but it seems like they healed it all right when I got here. They have some kooky technology here, that's for sure.
That's unreal. [He can't even really make sense of it fully, but the important part is that Eddie is okay. It does do something to endear this place more to Bill, though. They took care of Eddie, they couldn't be too bad.]
It's like w-we've become characters in The T-t-time Machine. W-what else can they do?
That's what I thought! (Eddie says this with a sort of wild, boyish delight. A lot of the stuff here was like it was straight out of the sci-fi novels or even the comic books.)
Well, clearly, for one they can pull people from all over. I've met giiiiant lady soldiers who can do magic, one of my best buds here is a literal skeleton- coolest guy ever, by the way.
(Eddie's gushing a bit, but that was nothing in comparison to when he first got here and still had his memories. Sans had asked about his friends and Eddie had positively lit up at the excuse to talk about them. After all, Sonia had never wanted to hear anything about any of them.)
The food is a little weird. But it's mostly good. I can't really figure out all the stuff they're doing, honestly. Most of it's way above my pay grade.
(He normally would feel dumb about that, but he was from the 1950s where color TV was only just making its debut. No one could expect him to understand all this.)
[Bill just imagines a really tall woman despite Eddie's exaggerated giant comment, but the skeleton comment is harder to rationalize away. He stares a little wide-eyed with awe and a small amount of excitement as Eddie talks, taking it easy atop his bike.]
I know it's above m-mine, t-too. I'm still trying to m-make sense of most of what I've heard or s-seen here. [Space, for instance. And the devices that weren't phones. And the aliens. Bill would have been flattered to know Eddie gushed about them. His friends are his family, and they mean much more to him than his spoken words could ever convey.]
I'm glad they p-patched you up. [Someday in the future they would have to talk about the food. Bill wanted to hear more, but right now, there's a sense of urgency at the back of his mind again whispering find them. He kicks his bike forward and lets it roll in a half circle, letting Eddie take the lead.]
(Bill ought to prepare himself for a lot of Eddie's soft ramblings, though they were important ramblings all the same. He turns off, leading the way towards his place- or now, he affectionately thinks, their place. They were all better off on their own than with their parents, and for the first time, when Eddie thinks the word 'home', he doesn't think of chains and a building discomfort in the center of his chest. He thinks Richie's stupid glasses, Bill's soft stutter, and Stan's neatness. At least, he was allowing himself to think of it that way.)
I found a room when I got here. I was gonna stay with this one girl- Laura, she's really cool! Could kick any guy's ass- but then there was no room, so I stayed down the hall so she and her daddy could keep an eye on me.
(He takes a short breath.)
Anyway, I found a space that we should all fit in. But um- we'll have to share rooms. I figured I'd share a room with Richie because uh- well, you know.
(He gives a small, bony shrug, and he doesn't really know what to say more than that. Bill was his best bud, no doubt, but Bill was like the older brother he had never had. He was the most positive male role model Eddie had his entire life, and he loved Bill endlessly and recklessly.
But then Richie was- Richie was different, but that was a given. He doesn't have to explain that to Bill. But still, he doesn't want to say much of it, because he doesn't want to hurt Bill's feelings and make him think he didn't love him as much as Richie, Richie who was his best friend too- but sort of more of a best friend. It was just a different kind of thing, but he's fairly certain Bill understands without needing to be told. Bill understood everything.)
I figured Richie would drive you or Stan crazy anyway. And uh- so there's like, communal bathroom stuff which is a little weird but it's not so bad once you get used to it. I got flip flops though for the showers- which you should too. Foot fungus is really contagious.
(They're approaching the station, and the hall that Eddie lives in. He stops just outside and slips off his bike, gently leaning it against the wall. Suddenly he looks a little nervous.)
Hey, Bill. (He pauses, hovering there awkwardly.)
I...It's kind of. Never mind. Um. Are you ready to see it?
[Bill pedals his old rusty bike just to the side and back of Eddie's and just listens for a while, letting Eddie ramble. His soft voice and words a comfort in such a strange place. And Bill is just happy to see Eddie well, happier than he has seen him in some time when he gets on the right topic, and there with him. For now, they are together and safe and he wants to keep it that way.]
It's the better s-setup. We'll all be fine sh-sharing rooms. [They're used to spending a lot of time together, and Bill does understand. He understands, and in his mind it's the better arrangement, though he's sure there will be times he has to step in between the two of them. He and Stan were the better pair to share a room than Stan and anyone else, and no one but Eddie could stand Richie's constant Richie without eventually needing to shove a sock in his mouth.
Eddie made a loud fuss, but the two of them were so close, no one could deny that. Well, except maybe Sonia.
Bill smiles as he listens to Eddie ramble on, and it only falters when he hears the uncertainty in Eddie's voice. He leans his bike beside Eddie's and follows him, his hand going out at the sound of Eddie's voice to give his shoulder another gentle squeeze. Whatever it is, it will be fine. They will be fine.]
(Dealing with Richie Tozier was Eddie Kaspbrak's one genuine talent, if he had any at all. Eddie making a fuss was half of how he dealt with it. Richie would be an absolute menace if Eddie didn't make a fuss (though in some ways, he would also probably be more tolerable too if Eddie didn't react so Goddamn much). Eddie is satisfied with Bill's response, smiling a little bit, because see? Bill got it.
That smile doesn't last very long. He had been nervous about Richie seeing the evidence of Eddie being left to his own devices, and he was just as nervous about Bill seeing it. It was a different kind of nervous, though. He didn't want Bill to worry about him, and he knew how it looked, really, he did. At the time it had seemed like a good idea, but at a glance, Eddie felt like he looked crazy. He knew he was crazy, at least a little bit, and that was still something he was struggling to deal with. But Bill had already gone through so much. The last thing he needed to worry about was Eddie.
The hand on his shoulder is reassuring, but only just enough to get Eddie to open the door. It was just about the same as when he had shown Richie, only his medicine bottles had, at some point, been knocked over.
Eddie steps aside so that Bill could go in first. Maybe, Eddie thought with that stupid soft childish hope, if he swelled up big enough, he could hide all of it. He'd paint over it if he wasn't still paranoid about forgetting everything. He shuts the door behind him, his eyes on the floor.)
I'll..I can show you where we're staying. Then you can pick wherever you want to stay. (Eddie's voice is faint, shaking around the edges. He had told Richie not to say anything, but he could never tell Bill that. Not when Bill's little brother was on that door. It didn't matter if it made Eddie anxious to think about Bill upset; it would be worse to take that agency from him.)
[Bill is quiet for a while. He steps past Eddie into the room without a word, and moves straight to the writing, standing before it, his eyes tracing each letter and his fingers ghosting just above each word and name.
He stops occasionally, first at the reminder meant for Eddie himself, then at the promise, and finally at the list of their names. With calm fingers and steady limbs he crouches and rests his hand besides Georgie's name. When his eyes reach IT he stands back up and turns to Eddie, moving over and pulling the smaller boy back into his arms in a tight hug.]
As long as we're all t-together, Eddie, I don't care w-where I stay.
(It's the kind of reaction Eddie would expect from Bill. A thoughtful reaction; one that he immerses himself in entirely. Eddie stands by, hands collected and knotting together anxiously at what Bill might say or do. What he might think.
But then Eddie's being hugged, a small sound escaping him, and his thin arms loop tightly around his best friend, his brother, and he buries his face into Bill's neck.)
I...completely forgot about all you guys.
(He confesses this very quietly, shamefully, as if Bill would actually blame him (he knows he won't). He leans back, staring up at Bill with large, wet eyes.)
I forgot about damn near everything, Bill.
(He slowly lets go of him, and glances at the wall.)
...I don't want to ever again. None of it. Even the bad.
(His eyes linger on the reminder for himself and he pinches his mouth into a thin line.)
I don't care either. I'm keeping you guys here no matter what it takes. (It's a bold declaration from Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie who was never the hero or the leader. But it was a decision he had felt fiercely about since remembering, that if his friends would ever show up, he'd fight the universe itself to keep them there. Nothing inspired bravery in him faster than his own loyalty. Which was a bit of his downfall, but no matter. If Eddie was worth anything at all, he was worth his friends.)
It's alright, Eddie. We're h-here now. [Bill feels a shared shame, smaller than Eddie's, but his own memories had been a little distant since arriving, and there had been things he had either started to forget or fully put out of his mind. Eddie's conviction, though, is shared, and Bill just nods, reluctantly letting Eddie move about. As badly as he wants to just keep holding onto some part of his friends to keep connected to them.
He smiles at Eddie, a little thin as most of his have been since Georgie's death, but he doesn't falter.]
You won't f-forget again. We w-won't let each other forget. [They couldn't. There had been too much, and so much of it, painful or otherwise, was too important. Bill wouldn't let the dead kids be forgotten. He wouldn't let Georgie be forgotten. He wouldn't forget about what happens when they don't stick together and look out for one another.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
savmods) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thisavrou_ooc2017-11-17 07:40 pm
no subject
I think that's a swell idea, Eddie. We should all stick together. [And really, Richie and Bill were already accustomed to taking care of themselves without adults, anyway.]
And you've been holding up on your own so far, that can't have been easy. [A month is a long time to be alone in a strange place, for any of them, let alone for Eddie.]
no subject
After recovering his memories, Eddie wasn't so sure how right all that was. The weight of Bill's arm is comforting, and Eddie walks in perfect sync with him, not struggling at all under its pressure.
He looks up at Bill, feeling undeserving completely of the praise. He had been holding up okay, he wants to say, but at the same time, he feels a swell of rarely-felt pride beating its way into his chest. For Bill to compliment him...)
Awh, shucks, it really hasn't been that hard. A lot of people here care about how I'm doing.
(His face is a little red, and really, none of that touches how he dealt with...far more personal things. Things that he didn't know what to do with when his friends weren't around. But he doesn't want Bill to worry, so he doesn't mention them now.)
I mostly just missed you all. I really-. (His voice chokes out and he feels embarrassed by his own sudden rise of emotions.)
It's stupid. A month isn't even that long, but it felt a lot...more.
no subject
But imagining Eddie alone here, having to figure everything out on his own while still dealing with the after effects of everything they went through- memories that felt far more distant already than they had any right to and were difficult to grasp but emotions he remembers all too vividly- he can understand the emotion strangling Eddie's words just fine.]
It's not stupid, and we're here now. We'll stick together and we'll look out for each other. I won't let us get separated again. [He doesn't stutter, but he doesn't notice either. He just knows that Eddie, Richie and Stan are here, that Eddie needs them, and they need each other, and that whatever happened to take Eddie away from them before, Bill isn't letting it happen again. He'll keep the other losers close.]
A month can feel like forever wh-when you f-feel like you're alone. [He knows. The months after Georgie died had dragged so painfully slow, even when the others were around, but when they weren't, the minutes felt like hours, and the nights felt like weeks.
no subject
He does eventually let go of Bill, leaning back to look up at him. His eyes had gotten wetter, the tip of his nose red, and he gives a small sniff. He blinks his eyes hard, and it helps a little to keep his eyes from leaking all over the place.)
I won't let us get separated again either. I want you guys to stay here with me.
(Not go back home. It was a no-brainer that this place, even with its strangeness, was safer and better than Derry ever had been or would be. He just hoped that the others would eventually find their way here too.)
...It can. (He'll admit that much. He'll admit that living completely alone hadn't been a great idea, but now that they were here, those hours spent hyper aware of the silence around him had been worth it. Soon, there wouldn't be silence in that suite. Soon there'd be the stuttering sound of Bill's voice, Richie's loud, stupid jokes, and Stan's smooth cutting remarks. He has to laugh, hugging Bill all over again.)
Jesus. I'm so glad you're all here.
(Finally Eddie steps back entirely, rubbing at his eyes.)
I'm gonna have to show you guys around. Introduce you to some people. It'll be fun.
no subject
This p-place is b-beautiful. [It's good to hear Eddie laugh, especially after It, and the sewers, and before that Eddie's arm- Bowers. Bill almost forgot. How could he have? His face screws up slightly again and he looks over at Eddie.]
Ho-how's your arm? [Bill glances over at him, picking his bike back up.]
no subject
(The question is unexpected. When Eddie had come to this place, he had come in healed. It was weird and wild, and to this day he still kept touching his arm to see if it was really fixed. But it was. For the most part, anyway. He wiggles his fingers and holds his arm out, looking down at it.)
It's okay. It hurts sometimes, but it seems like they healed it all right when I got here. They have some kooky technology here, that's for sure.
(He gets onto his own bike, rocking into place.)
no subject
It's like w-we've become characters in The T-t-time Machine. W-what else can they do?
no subject
Well, clearly, for one they can pull people from all over. I've met giiiiant lady soldiers who can do magic, one of my best buds here is a literal skeleton- coolest guy ever, by the way.
(Eddie's gushing a bit, but that was nothing in comparison to when he first got here and still had his memories. Sans had asked about his friends and Eddie had positively lit up at the excuse to talk about them. After all, Sonia had never wanted to hear anything about any of them.)
The food is a little weird. But it's mostly good. I can't really figure out all the stuff they're doing, honestly. Most of it's way above my pay grade.
(He normally would feel dumb about that, but he was from the 1950s where color TV was only just making its debut. No one could expect him to understand all this.)
no subject
I know it's above m-mine, t-too. I'm still trying to m-make sense of most of what I've heard or s-seen here. [Space, for instance. And the devices that weren't phones. And the aliens. Bill would have been flattered to know Eddie gushed about them. His friends are his family, and they mean much more to him than his spoken words could ever convey.]
I'm glad they p-patched you up. [Someday in the future they would have to talk about the food. Bill wanted to hear more, but right now, there's a sense of urgency at the back of his mind again whispering find them. He kicks his bike forward and lets it roll in a half circle, letting Eddie take the lead.]
Let's go s-see your place.
no subject
I found a room when I got here. I was gonna stay with this one girl- Laura, she's really cool! Could kick any guy's ass- but then there was no room, so I stayed down the hall so she and her daddy could keep an eye on me.
(He takes a short breath.)
Anyway, I found a space that we should all fit in. But um- we'll have to share rooms. I figured I'd share a room with Richie because uh- well, you know.
(He gives a small, bony shrug, and he doesn't really know what to say more than that. Bill was his best bud, no doubt, but Bill was like the older brother he had never had. He was the most positive male role model Eddie had his entire life, and he loved Bill endlessly and recklessly.
But then Richie was- Richie was different, but that was a given. He doesn't have to explain that to Bill. But still, he doesn't want to say much of it, because he doesn't want to hurt Bill's feelings and make him think he didn't love him as much as Richie, Richie who was his best friend too- but sort of more of a best friend. It was just a different kind of thing, but he's fairly certain Bill understands without needing to be told. Bill understood everything.)
I figured Richie would drive you or Stan crazy anyway. And uh- so there's like, communal bathroom stuff which is a little weird but it's not so bad once you get used to it. I got flip flops though for the showers- which you should too. Foot fungus is really contagious.
(They're approaching the station, and the hall that Eddie lives in. He stops just outside and slips off his bike, gently leaning it against the wall. Suddenly he looks a little nervous.)
Hey, Bill. (He pauses, hovering there awkwardly.)
I...It's kind of. Never mind. Um. Are you ready to see it?
no subject
It's the better s-setup. We'll all be fine sh-sharing rooms. [They're used to spending a lot of time together, and Bill does understand. He understands, and in his mind it's the better arrangement, though he's sure there will be times he has to step in between the two of them. He and Stan were the better pair to share a room than Stan and anyone else, and no one but Eddie could stand Richie's constant Richie without eventually needing to shove a sock in his mouth.
Eddie made a loud fuss, but the two of them were so close, no one could deny that. Well, except maybe Sonia.
Bill smiles as he listens to Eddie ramble on, and it only falters when he hears the uncertainty in Eddie's voice. He leans his bike beside Eddie's and follows him, his hand going out at the sound of Eddie's voice to give his shoulder another gentle squeeze. Whatever it is, it will be fine. They will be fine.]
I'm ready.
no subject
That smile doesn't last very long. He had been nervous about Richie seeing the evidence of Eddie being left to his own devices, and he was just as nervous about Bill seeing it. It was a different kind of nervous, though. He didn't want Bill to worry about him, and he knew how it looked, really, he did. At the time it had seemed like a good idea, but at a glance, Eddie felt like he looked crazy. He knew he was crazy, at least a little bit, and that was still something he was struggling to deal with. But Bill had already gone through so much. The last thing he needed to worry about was Eddie.
The hand on his shoulder is reassuring, but only just enough to get Eddie to open the door. It was just about the same as when he had shown Richie, only his medicine bottles had, at some point, been knocked over.
Eddie steps aside so that Bill could go in first. Maybe, Eddie thought with that stupid soft childish hope, if he swelled up big enough, he could hide all of it. He'd paint over it if he wasn't still paranoid about forgetting everything. He shuts the door behind him, his eyes on the floor.)
I'll..I can show you where we're staying. Then you can pick wherever you want to stay. (Eddie's voice is faint, shaking around the edges. He had told Richie not to say anything, but he could never tell Bill that. Not when Bill's little brother was on that door. It didn't matter if it made Eddie anxious to think about Bill upset; it would be worse to take that agency from him.)
no subject
He stops occasionally, first at the reminder meant for Eddie himself, then at the promise, and finally at the list of their names. With calm fingers and steady limbs he crouches and rests his hand besides Georgie's name. When his eyes reach IT he stands back up and turns to Eddie, moving over and pulling the smaller boy back into his arms in a tight hug.]
As long as we're all t-together, Eddie, I don't care w-where I stay.
no subject
But then Eddie's being hugged, a small sound escaping him, and his thin arms loop tightly around his best friend, his brother, and he buries his face into Bill's neck.)
I...completely forgot about all you guys.
(He confesses this very quietly, shamefully, as if Bill would actually blame him (he knows he won't). He leans back, staring up at Bill with large, wet eyes.)
I forgot about damn near everything, Bill.
(He slowly lets go of him, and glances at the wall.)
...I don't want to ever again. None of it. Even the bad.
(His eyes linger on the reminder for himself and he pinches his mouth into a thin line.)
I don't care either. I'm keeping you guys here no matter what it takes. (It's a bold declaration from Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie who was never the hero or the leader. But it was a decision he had felt fiercely about since remembering, that if his friends would ever show up, he'd fight the universe itself to keep them there. Nothing inspired bravery in him faster than his own loyalty. Which was a bit of his downfall, but no matter. If Eddie was worth anything at all, he was worth his friends.)
no subject
He smiles at Eddie, a little thin as most of his have been since Georgie's death, but he doesn't falter.]
You won't f-forget again. We w-won't let each other forget. [They couldn't. There had been too much, and so much of it, painful or otherwise, was too important. Bill wouldn't let the dead kids be forgotten. He wouldn't let Georgie be forgotten. He wouldn't forget about what happens when they don't stick together and look out for one another.]
Do you want to show me the r-rest?