[Eddie's laughter resonates in the bathroom with them like a far off melody and Richie listens to it, tries to pinpoint when it moves from one wall to the next and how it seems to bring the still steamy water around them to life with tiny ripples. Evidence that it happened, and that they were very much still here. Those odds, defying logic, it didn't seem like anything but a gift now and Richie's hand finds the wet curls of Eddie's hair at the back of his neck and he doesn't realize that he's tracing circles there until long after he started.]

As much as I like to imagine the look on her face, I like this better.

[Being here, like this, with him. Eddie has a smile that could warm him down to his core and it made him forget his worries. It did that now when he turned to face him and Richie finds himself staring, at his eyes, and at his rosy lips.]

I was always going to- I wanted to. [There's no excuse for his cowardice but the truth of things was so depressing he didn't want to linger there any longer than he had to.] You pawing at me had something to do with it, I mean- obviously, it did. But- we showed up together for a reason and I don't want to be here with anyone else but you.