Work Text:
Richie Tozier’s evening was going fine . His comedy show that night had flopped, but he was finally writing his own material. His car had broken down while he was driving down the highway, but the mechanic who towed him recognized him and gave him a free ride home. The date who was supposed to meet him at the bar near his apartment never showed, but his best friend Stan said he was free and was going to meet him there soon. So, yes. If anyone asked, Richie Tozier’s evening was going just fine.
The bar that night was not overly crowded. There was a group of regulars sat at one of the large tables in the back, periodically yelling at the large TV screen playing that nights football game, and a few couples spread out randomly amongst the smaller tables by the door. Richie had claimed a seat by the end of the bar, and was leaned back casually in his chair, nursing his second beer of the evening.
When his date had been a no show, Richie felt resigned more than anything. As a newly out, semi famous comedian, Richie had found that most of the dates he’d attempted to go on recently, ended in one of two outcomes. They either A, start okay but quickly turn sour when it becomes clear that they were only there because he was “the Richie Tozier ”, or B, ended up with Richie going back to his date’s place and falling into bed with them, just to be kicked out as soon as they’d both had an orgasm because all they’d really wanted was to know what it was like to bed “the Richie Tozier ”. Richie tried not to let it get to him, but he was a romantic at heart and not having someone serious to come home to at almost 40 years old was affecting him in ways he tried not to think about.
Richie was just reaching for his phone to check on Stan’s ETA, when a loud exclamation of, “babe!” drew his attention moments before an unfairly attractive man plopped down in his lap. Richie froze, eyes wide as the man leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “please go along with this. That creep at the other end of the bar won’t leave me alone.”
Richie chanced a quick glance over the man’s shoulder and noticed an older man with a receding line of carrot red hair glaring at them over a glass of whiskey. Richie forced himself to relax and wound one arm around the other man’s back, supporting him with a hand on his hip, and let his other hand fall to his thigh. He looked up with a dopey smile and raised his voice slightly to be heard by the older man across the room.
“Darling! What are you doing here? I thought you were working late tonight?”
The man on his lap smiled back. “I was supposed to but one of our clients bailed so they sent me home. I wanted to surprise you but you weren’t at the apartment so I figured you’d probably be here instead. Looks like I know you pretty well, huh?”
Richie peered back at the older man who was looking at them with narrowed, calculating eyes, as if he wasn’t believing their act. Looking back up at the man in his lap, Richie loudly said, “you know me better than anyone, baby,” then quickly whispered, “he’s not buying it, don’t freak out, okay?”
The man barely had time to furrow his eyebrows in question before Richie reached up to cup his face and pulled him down into a deep kiss. Richie felt him gasp against his lips before he quickly melted into Richie’s touch, tilting his head to get a better angle. He brought one hand to Richie’s neck, and the other up to grab loosely at Richie’s wrist.
Butterflies immediately erupted in Richie’s stomach as their mouths came together and his chest grew pleasantly warm. The soft sigh the other man let out and the way his grip subtly tightened, as if to hold Richie against him longer, clued Richie into the fact that the man in his lap may be feeling the same way he was.
They kissed for a long moment, lips moving languidly against each other, then parted with a soft click. Neither moved far, breathing in each other’s air as they stared, wide eyed and flushed.
“Wow,” The other man breathed. His eyes began scanning Richie’s face, as if to memorize all of his features.
“Yeah.” Richie’s eyes did the same, taking in the man’s warm, brown eyes, freckled nose, and thin, pink lips. He quickly glanced over his shoulder and saw that the older man was gone, then returned to his staring. “He’s gone.”
“Who’s gone?”
There was a moment of silence as the other man processed what he’d just said, before he jerked quickly out of Richie’s lap and turned crimson in embarrassment.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. This is so embarrassing.” He took a step away from Richie, preparing to flee, when Richie reached out and caught his hand in a gentle hold.
“Wait! It’s okay. Please don’t go!”
Richie’s hand tingled where it was curled gently around the other man’s, watching with bated breath as he froze and looked at Richie in surprise. Richie gave him a hopeful smile.
“Can I uh… can I buy you a drink?”
The man was silent for a moment then let a smile bloom on his face. Richie’s breath caught in his throat at how beautiful it was.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d really like that.” He stepped back toward Richie, never letting go of his hand, and slid into the chair next to him. “I’m Eddie, by the way. Eddie Kaspbrak.”
“Eddie Kaspbrak,” Richie breathed. He gave him a large grin. “It’s nice to meet you, Eddie Kaspbrak. I’m Richie Tozier.”
Eddie’s eyebrows rose. “Richie Tozier as in, comedian Richie Tozier?”
Richie squeezed his hand, suddenly feeling nervous, not wanting Eddie to turn out like the men he’s been trying to date. “The one and only! You a fan?”
Eddie pursed his lips and glanced at him appraisingly, then gave him a soft smirk. “I’ve seen better.”
Richie let out a startled laugh. “Oh, Eds gets off a good one!”
Eddie’s laughter joined his own as he ordered himself a beer. “Well one of us has to be funny.”
They fell into an easy banter after that, feeding off of each other as they teased and told jokes at the others expense. Richie loudly made fun of Eddie’s job as a risk analyst while Eddie poked fun at Richie’s fashion sense. Before either man knew it, two hours had passed and the bar was announcing last call.
“Oh shit, I didn’t realize it was so late! I should get going. Gotta get up early for work tomorrow.”
Richie felt his stomach drop at the thought of parting ways with Eddie. He turned to the bartender to close his tab, refusing to let Eddie pay for any of his own drinks, and when he looked back, Eddie was holding out a small piece of paper with a shy smile.
“I actually had a really nice time tonight. If you uh… ever wanna do this again, I’d definitely be game.”
Richie couldn’t contain his grin as he gently took the paper from Eddie’s hand. “I would love to do this again, Eddie.”
Eddie smiled brightly.
It wasn’t until the two of them had parted ways and Richie was walking back to his apartment that he realized Stan had never shown up to meet him. Puzzled, he pulled out his phone and found a message waiting for him.
[from Stanley Uris] 8:48pm
So. Imagine my surprise when I arrived at the bar to meet you, after you told me your date was a no show, just to find you sucking face with a cute brunette. I apologize for not announcing myself but you were preoccupied. I expect all the details in the morning.
Richie laughed, making a mental note to call Stan first thing tomorrow. As he stepped into his apartment, closing his door against the night, he couldn’t help but grin to himself, chest feeling warm and Eddie’s phone number burning a pleasant hole in his pocket.