text; un: trashmouth; nov. 29th

[measuringdicks]

Eddie's gone.

I'll be keeping the clinic open. I think he'd want that. but we need another nurse or a doctor or even a magic healer as soon as possible. I don't know nearly enough about medical shit.

Comments

[droptheious]

Okay. Sit tight, I'm on my way.

[And before long, as promised, he arrived via the Lamps, heading straight for the greenhouse- he also has a wicker basket of food (and beer!) all set. He offers Richie a sad smile as he walks in.]

Hey. I'm gonna guess asking how you're holding up will get a pretty lousy answer, huh?

tw underage drinking

[measuringdicks]

[Richie is surrounded by animals right now. Venkman the Mimikyu is standing guard and trills a worried noise at Varian, thank god you're here, but the rest of the little menagerie is surrounding Richie, making sure he's holding on to something warm and soft at all times.

Richie? Looks like hell. His eyes are puffy from crying, and he looks like he hasn't changed out of his clothes since he woke up yesterday. He sniffs.]

If you ask me how I'm doing I'm—not sure I wouldn't accidentally set you on fire. [Another quiet sniff.] Just give me the fucking beer. If I have to take over running the clinic I'm not gonna do it sober today.

tw so much underage drinking probably

[droptheious]

[Varian's heart wrenches in his chest to see the state of Richie, he knew none of this would be easy, but seeing Richie like this really hammers home that Eddie's really gone. He crosses over, patting Mimikyu gently, before handing the requested beer over to him. ]

Yeah, I don't blame you. I think you're entitled to look and feel like hell right now.

[He moves to sit beside Richie, heaving out a sigh. He's not going to say he's sorry or anything like that. What will it do? Not bring Eddie back, that's for sure. ]

Let the clinic be today, we can have one day without it. And in the morning...I dunno. Between us all, we'll figure something out. If nothing else, I can up the pharmaceuticals here. But right now just... just deal with grieving.

[measuringdicks]

But there's so much I gotta do. Fuck. [Richie sniffs, and just tips his head back to pour the beer right down his throat. He gags a bit, but quickly gets past it and takes a long pull.] I mean, I know you're right, there's a shitton of people coming to help out and it can probably run without me for a while, but. I have to. I have to. Because Eddie's not here.

[His voice breaks.]

That fucking asshole. We had plans. We had so many fucking plans and he fucking leaves just like that. [He sniffs, and shakes his head.] I know—I know he didn't mean to, I know he'd never, but fuck, it fucking hurts.

[droptheious]

I know you do, but you also need to go at a pace that isn't gonna... gonna destroy you in the process. As much as I'm sure that's probably tempting right now, the rest of us would rather you not do that.

[Because he has friends who care about him and sometimes life sucks like that buddy. He exhales softly, because yeah, it hurts. Eddie felt like a permanent addition to Trench. His absence is definitely felt and will only be more so as time goes on.

He reaches out to put a hand on Richie's shoulder, squeezing it. ]

I'm sorry. I wish I could fix this and...and make it so he wasn't gone. I really do.

[measuringdicks]

I don't wanna destroy me. I just wanna make sure I don't run Eddie's baby into the ground by fucking accident. [He waves a hand at the greenhouse around him, the clinic it's attached to. It's sort of a lie, though, because self-destruction is starting to look pretty damn tempting to him right now.

He leans a little into the touch, into Varian's side. Sniffles.]

You and me and everybody else. [Another sniff.] I had a plan for if I left again, y'know? 'Cause it happens to me so often. I was gonna film a video like, hey, dumbass, Eddie is the love of your fucking life so you better treat him right. I had this whole speech planned. But I didn't think he'd leave. [A mirthless laugh.] Fuckin' stupid, right? Everybody leaves. Even the ones who've been here forever. Should've learned that lesson years ago.

[droptheious]

Then we'll figure that out. Collectively. We'll keep this place running.

[Well, that shoulder squeeze is just gonna turn into a one-armed hug, trying to provide some comfort. ]

Sometimes, it's easy to think no one will ever leave you. Like...they're here for so long it feels like they're permanent additions to the world. I'm... I don't know. Eddie vanishing feels so weird. Like a huge chunk of the world has gone. It makes sense you'd feel that more than any of us.

[And now Richie is the one left behind. He's helped Eddie deal with Richie's departure once before, and now here he is in reverse. ]

...I'm sorry, Richie. All of this is just...the worst. But you don't have to be alone for any of it, okay?