Richie and Eddie are just hanging out, just the two of them, and Richie starts… trying.At first it’s subtle (in his mind):“You ever think about how, like… some people just have really nice eyes? Hypothetically.”Eddie Kaspbrak doesn’t even look up:“No. Because that’s weird.”Richie pushes on.“Not weird! Normal! Super normal thing to notice about—uh—guys.”Eddie pauses.“…Why would you specify guys?”Richie, immediately sweating:“No reason. Equal opportunity eye appreciation.”Eddie squints at him but lets it go.A few minutes later:“If someone did like a guy,” Richie says, way too casually, “that wouldn’t be, like, a big deal, right?”Eddie shrugs:“No? Why would it be?”Richie nods, trying to act chill:“Cool. Coolcoolcool. Good to know. For… society.”Now Eddie’s suspicious.Then Richie makes it worse.“Also, if that hypothetical guy was, I don’t know, kind of a germaphobe and yelled a lot but was secretly brave—”Eddie snaps his head toward him:“Who are you talking about?”Richie freezes.“No one.”“That is very specific, Richie.”“It’s called storytelling, Eds, look it up.”Now Eddie’s fully staring at him, gears turning.There’s a long pause.Then slowly… you can see it click.Eddie’s eyes widen just a little.“…Oh.”Richie goes still.“Oh,” Eddie says again, pointing vaguely at him, like he’s solving a puzzle. “Ohhh. I get it.”Richie’s heart is doing backflips.“Get what?” (terrible attempt at innocence)Eddie, with absolute certainty:“Gay.”Silence.Richie:“That’s—not—that’s not even a question, you just—”Eddie, now fully locked in:“You’re gay.”Richie throws his hands up:“Okay, wow, we really skipped a few steps there—”Eddie keeps going, pacing now:“And the ‘hypothetical guy’ is—oh my God, it’s me.”Richie makes a strangled noise:“I didn’t say that—”“You basically said that!”“I implied it! There’s a difference!”Eddie stops pacing. Looks at him.“You like me.”Not a question this time.Richie deflates a little, rubbing the back of his neck:“…Yeah.”There’s a beat.Eddie processes at lightning speed, then immediately defaults:“That’s stupid.”Richie groans:“Yeah, I gathered—”But Eddie doesn’t leave. He’s flustered, red, and very much not as dismissive as he’s trying to sound.“You’re still annoying,” he adds.Richie huffs:“Wow, thanks, that really softens the rejection.”Eddie hesitates… then mutters:“I didn’t say I was rejecting you.”And now it’s Richie’s turn to short-circuit.
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