but he knew well enough.

“Fuck.” “What’s up?” Eddie turns, pulling himself away from his thoughts, and tonight’s pasta. Richie is frowning down at his phone. “Nothing, just. Bill hasn’t picked up, I’ve called 5 times. Do you think he’s…” “Rich, he’s probably just with Mike.” Richie’s eyebrows shoot up and he grins, worries gone for the moment. “Ah, right. Getting plowed by his husband.” Eddie rolls his eyes. Bill and Mike aren’t married yet, but they’ve been engaged for a few months, and have made it clear they prefer to be private about their relationship. Something Richie has picked up on and teased them to death with. “If only we were all so lucky as Bill,” Richie drawls, a grin still plastering his face, and Eddie laughs. “Marriage isn’t everything, Rich, trust me. I was married for, what… ten years? Twelve-” “Yeah, but you married your mother,” Richie cuts in, blunt as ever. “Not that I don’t appreciate how irresistible Mrs Kaspbrak is-” “Cut it out,” Eddie says, half-heartedly, “But when it’s your own mother? Weird.” He shudders, and laughs when Eddie just gives him a half-amused look. Eddie has always had this banter with Richie, where Richie jokes around and often toes the line, and Eddie acts annoyed and tells him he isn’t half as funny as he thinks, but the truth is, Eddie could hang out with Richie all day. He has in fact, on his days off when Richie happened to be free as well, usually playing video games while Eddie sat on the other end of the couch. “We could try calling Bev and Ben,” Eddie suggests, and Richie nods, absentmindedly. “Already a step ahead of you, spaghetti man.” Eddie smiles wryly as the dial tone goes, and goes, and goes, until- “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I took so long to answer, Ben’s out the back with Daisy, and I’m cooking dinner, so-” “It’s fine Bev, just say you were dry humping him and go,” Richie cracks. “Beep beep, Richie. How are you guys doing? Is Eddie okay?” “Yeah, he’s fine,” Richie answers, smiling at Eddie for a second, “It’s just crazy how quickly this is all happening, you know?” There’s a pause. “By that you mean…” “This virus,” Richie says quickly, turning away from Eddie a little, unbeknownst to him hiding his flushed face. Eddie turns to continue stirring the pasta, and eventually, Richie passes the phone over. “Hey, Bev, how are you and Ben doing?” “Oh we’re fine! Daisy has been restless, but we’ve been taking her out on her daily walk, just staying close of course. How are things with you and Richie?” The words “You and Richie” paralyse Eddie for a moment, before he can respond. “Uh, good. I mean, weird, with the office shutting down, but Rich basically works from home anyway, so he’s good, and, I mean, we’re kind of transitioning to video chats for business meetings, so.” “That’s good,” Beverly agrees, “You guys know you can video chat us any time, right? Just text us and we’ll find a time, which could honestly be any time at the moment,” she says with a short laugh. “Oh, have you heard from Mike and Bill?” “Hmm, not today, I was actually thinking of calling them after you. How come?” “Oh, just Richie tried calling them before you, but they didn’t pick up.” “Huh. Alright, I’ll let you know if I reach them, then. Love you, Eddie.” “Love you, Bev,” Eddie says back, and then Richie quickly swoops in and adds “Love you, and your hot boyfriend too.” Beverly laughs and hangs up, and Eddie and Richie are left to the silence, apart from the boiling pasta. Eddie notices how close they suddenly are, and Richie smiles ruefully, as he goes to step out of the kitchen. “I’ll just, uh, be right back…” “Yeah,” Eddie breathes, turning his attention back to the pasta after Richie has left his line of sight. This would be a long few weeks of isolation.