Princess, Knight and Dragon ✔️ Reddie

Give Me A Try

'Dinner at Vanessa's on Friday,' Eddie said, appearing at Richie's bedroom door, fingers gripped around the jamb.

Richie looked up from his notepad scribbles. Still so few decent gags, and his manager was starting to get impatient.

She was talking about resurrecting an old tour show to get buzz back up, sending Richie onto interviews to talk plainly about overcoming his addictions to explain the hiatus or rehiring the writing team which had provided the material over the last few years.

Richie didn't want to do any of those things. He wanted to perform his own show on his own terms, but that didn't work without the jokes.

'Do you need me to look after Mags?' Richie asked.

'She's invited too,' Eddie affirmed. 'And so are you.'

Raising his eyebrows, Richie simply said, 'Oh.'

'Kids probably won't eat with us. It'll just be the four adults for food. Kimberley's meant to be an excellent cook.'

Richie shrugged, 'Guess we'll see for ourselves.'

'Is that a yes?'

Richie cleared his throat. 'Well, I don't have any other plans.'

'Are you sure?' Eddie asked quietly. 'You don't seem all that eager.'

In actuality, Richie was incredibly eager. He and Vanessa had struck up a good rapport, often running into each other down at the swimming pool, and he found her to be raucously funny, sharing his taste in humour. He'd not met Kim before, but Vanessa talked about her enough that Richie had built up a picture in his head of a remarkably accomplished woman who had led a fascinating life.

Yet, Richie felt most excited and most guilty for his excitement because Vanessa and Kim were a couple. Vanessa had been married before, to a man, but she had left him and was now married to a woman.

'I'm just trying to remember the last time I went to a dinner party,' Richie said with a shy smile. 'Sounds like fun. And I get on really well with Ness.'

Richie hardly ever found himself in the company of openly queer adults through his career; he supposed that his Trashmouth shtick put off a warding image. He didn't look like a safe space for them.

Nor had they been a safe space for him when they had come around. Scandals had stalked his past, and Richie had learned to be careful lest his managers, producers and agents come breathing down his neck, urging him to consider his audience, which consisted predominantly of straight men.

Let alone the small heartbreaks as one night stands and secret liaisons became excuses for men to grasp for their fifteen minutes of fame by leaking photographs and stories to the tabloids. After a while, Richie had shut that side of himself off completely. It was easier that way.

'Great,' Eddie nodded. 'Ness has said smart casual for dress code, but I know for a fact that Kim always looks sensational, so –'

'I'll make an effort,' Richie rolled his eyes. 'Should I shave?'

Eddie cocked his head. 'I don't know what you'd even look like without the beard.'

'Maybe I don't need it anymore,' Richie mused, and for some reason, he thought about his ex-girlfriend Sandra.

Things were different now. Richie had changed his surroundings to New York City and moved in with his childhood best friend whom he loved with all his heart. He remembered his past with staggering clarity, spreading roots across the country through the other Losers, anchoring him and reminding him that he wasn't alone. He was as close to a parent as he'd ever imagined that he would be and it was that relationship which kept him sober, because he refused to let her down.