#mosd

pairing: eddie kaspbrak/richie tozier & bill denbrough/mike hanlon rating: m chapters: 2/? (updated: 7.3k ⇢ 12.9k )

the beginning isn’t always the same. sometimes he’s nine, sometimes he’s twelve - never much older than that. sometimes he’s wearing his favorite old red shorts, sometimes he’s wearing the crisp white polo he wore to church. sometimes he’s in the hallways of his elementary school, sometimes he’s in the long corridors of his nana’s house, and sometimes he doesn’t know where he is at all. 

he is always running. and he is never fast enough. 

‘eddie,’ she calls. she’s right behind him, she’s lightyears away. ‘eddie-bear.’ sickly-sweet, crawling across his skin like the spiders in the basement. 

‘don’t run from mommy,’ she’d whisper. even when eddie would cover his ears, she was there, inside of him: a part of him he couldn’t cut away. ‘eddie, come home. come home to mommy.’ 

sometimes, dream eddie would find his voice. no, he’d say, or stop, or please, or i’m trying my best i promise, i promise. 

‘eddie,’ the voice morphs, and sometimes —  every time —  eddie weeps. ‘your best just isn’t good enough.’