Rain (Reddie)

Two.

Silence took over the lobby while Richie and Eddie stared at one another, the tension palpable. Years and years of painful silence was abruptly broken.

Eddie wondered if Richie's heart was racing just as fast as his was.

He was struggling to organize his thoughts in that moment, unable to truly process his ex-boyfriend and how he felt in that moment.

Sure, he had gotten a glimpse of Richie a few times on TV or somewhere on social media since the break up, but it was something he would quickly change channels away from or exit out of. He had avoided studying him, knowing that the ache he had spent over a year trying to repress would immediately return as a sharp pain.

That sharp pain that he was trying to avoid after all of those years finally made its return. Seeing Richie brought back a rush of emotions that he wasn't mentally prepared to handle.

His breathing speeding up ever so slightly had Eddie instinctively reaching for his back pocket, until he remembered that he didn't have an inhaler anymore.

It was Richie's disappearance that made the use of the inhaler needed, and it took him months to stop needing it afterwards.

'You don't need it. You don't need it.' He chanted in his mind to calm down.

As everything that they'd been through flashed across his mind, a glare started to form on Eddie's face, his arms crossing over his chest defiantly. At first, he wasn't sure which emotion would rise to the surface, but it was clear that anger was making its appearance.

"No hi, Eddie?" Richie's resonant voice echoed inside of his head, making Eddie upset that it still made his heart skip a beat to hear.

He didn't respond, sure that not only would his reply be scathing, but that his voice would shake as well; neither was a good outcome.

Instead, he walked over to sit on a nearby couch, ignoring the existence of his ex while simultaneously ignoring the stares of the rest of the losers. How dare Richie expect Eddie to say anything to him after he up and left Eddie with only a note? Eddie had heard nothing but radio silence ever since finding that letter, and he felt it was only fair for him to be able to choose whether or not to break that silence.

"So, what's the plan for this week? Since we're all here, we should catch up." Eddie was glad that his voice didn't shake the way it wanted to, doing his best to avoid Richie's gaze. He did catch another glimpse of Richie, however, and thought that maybe for a second, Richie actually looked hurt by being ignored.

No, that couldn't be so. A guy who could leave his four year boyfriend with nothing but a note definitely would not feel hurt over being ignored.

After another long beat of dragging silence, Mike awkwardly cleared his throat, speaking up to break it. "A round of drinks to celebrate Ben and Bev's wedding?"

—

They spent thirty minutes in the lobby catching up.

The round of drinks were on Bill, and after they all downed a shot, the awkwardness in the air dissipated.

A lot of the talk surrounded around their careers; growing up meant that work was one of the most meaningful topics that adults could participate in.

Ben had been an architect for nearly six years, and he was renowned for his mind and concepts. His most recent project had taken place in Europe for an important building. Beverly was a successful fashion designer, with many of her designs being sold for a high cost because their popularity. Bev revealed that she was in the works of starting her own line and company.