“Get it? ‘Cause we’re in a library.”

reddie fic rating: g word count: 4961

Trashmouth: did u know ur only like 40 min from the sopranos diner

Spaghetti Man: Hi did you know you’re about ten years too late to find that cool?

Or: Richie takes Eddie to all the best diners, drive-ins, and dives he knows. It turns out it's surprisingly easy to share confessions in these kinds of places.

Eddie’s head snaps up and away from the dilapidated Derry sidewalk he’d been staring at to avoid tripping on a crack and losing a tooth in this godforsaken town.

When he looks up, though, Richie is staring straight forward next to him, hands shoved deep into his pockets and shoulders hunched up toward his ears. If it hadn’t been for the subtle red flush high up on his cheeks, Eddie would’ve assumed he had imagined hearing him speak.

But he knows Richie definitely said that out loud for a reason, so he nudges their elbows together and says, “Yeah, I know, it was all over Twitter. Comedian Rich Tozier Bombs Onstage, Cancels Remaining Shows in Vegas.”

“Can’t believe Eddie Kaspbrak is a Twitter fiend,” Richie smirks before dropping his own gaze to the sidewalk.

Suddenly he’s shaking his head, a sharp, jerky motion Eddie remembers from high school.

“Not that kind of engagement, Eds. A marriage one. A proposal. You know — I was engaged. Never got married, that part really was a joke. But I was engaged to this girl. For, like, seven years.”

“Jesus.” Eddie stares at him openly, but he can’t see anything in the face of this man — this stranger’s face on the soul of his best friend. “You always jumped headfirst into Step One of a plan, but never seemed to make it to Step Two. Isn’t that right? Is that what happened here?”

Richie’s mouth turns up on one side, the way he always seemed please whenever Eddie would rib him for something back in the day. But he shrugs one shoulder, too, like he’s taking the question seriously and yet coming up short of a clear response.

“Something always held me back from the actual marriage part,” he admits, kicking at an acorn in his path. “We’d start looking at venues, talk about DJs or live bands, but…something always stopped me before we could make any concrete plans.”

His stride lengthens, just for a second, damn those long legs of his, and Eddie has to scurry to catch up to him and hear what he says next:

“Just always felt like something was missing, until Mike called and the memories started coming back. That’s when I ended things with her for good.”

Eddie’s heart trips for a beat or two, and he tries to shove that strange reaction down and give this conversation with Richie his full attention — he can consider his traitorous body and its weird impulses later.

“Something in you must’ve remembered us, even subconsciously,” he muses, “and you knew it wouldn’t be right to have a wedding without the Losers there.”

He thinks he hears something like a chuckle from Richie, and he can’t imagine why, but sure enough, there’s a smile guarding Richie’s words when he half-turns his face toward Eddie to speak again.