Turns out there's a big difference to saying I love you to your cousin who isn't your cousin when you're shouting over the lunch rush or in the middle of a fight or on the phone after a long shift, and saying I love you while you're less than an inch away from his mouth, and you have two fingers up his ass, and you're about to have some fantastic sex. Saying it, hearing it, doesn't usually make Richie's stomach flutter. It does now. He hasn't felt that in a long time.

But Carmy says it, and he can't not say it back.

"Yeah." He pushes his fingers in deeper. In and out, screwing into him. "Yeah. I love you too, cousin." And he kisses Carmy as well, which makes the fluttery feeling worse. He wants to come and he wants to cry, but most of all he wants Carmen Berzatto.

"Okay. I need to, uh, be inside you now." Richie pulls his hand out, and takes hold of his lubed up dick instead. Snubs the head against Carmy's hole and pushes forward a little bit before either of them can try and stop themselves. "Oh fuck. Oh fuck, that's good."