Chapter Text
Stan sighed, looking around the apartment. He’d finally finished moving in and getting everything situated. He was happy Patty had helped him decorate because he would have left it bare. She’d taken him shopping and picked out a few things that made it feel homier. He was currently sitting on the couch with a cup of tea and a half-read book in front of him. This was it, his new home.
There was a loud bang and then someone yelling. His new home that apparently came with inconsiderate neighbors. He groaned. One of the main reasons he’d chosen this apartment is because it was supposed to be quieter. He stood up, walking towards the front door. Hopefully the noisy neighbors were either leaving or going back to their apartment soon .
Stan pushed the door open and looked down the hallway. There wasn’t anyone down there. He was about to look on the other side of the door when something ran into it. Stan stumbled backwards from the force, trying to catch his balance. He failed, crashing to the floor with an undignified sound. Stan wasn’t quite sure how to react. He blinked at the door, as if he was expecting it to apologize.
Someone poked out from behind the door. His curly dark hair was sticking out in random directions, but in an infuriatingly attractive way . His blue eyes sparkling behind his glasses. For a moment, Stan had forgotten that he’d fallen, that the guy behind the door was the reason he was sprawled on the ground .
“Shit, I’m so sorry man.”
Stan huffed. “It’s fine.” Stan stood up and crossed his arms. “Are you the one yelling out here?”
The guy laughed. “No, that was my boyfriend.”
“Can you tell him to stop? Some of us are trying to enjoy a peaceful evening.”
Stan knew he was being rude, but at this point he didn’t care. He could tell the guy was going to blow Stan off. The dark-haired neighbor withdrew for a second, before getting over it. And Stan was right. The guy leaned against Stan door, which was now completely open. He crossed his arms and smirked. His eyes traveled down Stan before raising back up to meet his eyes. Then the stranger looked into Stan’s apartment.
“Is that so? Seems pretty boring if you ask me. I can think of a few things you might enjoy more.”
Stan didn’t know how to respond, just felt his jaw drop. Was this guy seriously flirting with him? He had just told Stan that he had a boyfriend. Before Stan could say anything, he heard someone yelling from down the hallway. He turned to see another attractive guy. This must be the stranger’s boyfriend.
“What’s taking so long?”
“Ran into this angel, so why don’t you fuck off Denbrough?”
Angel? Stan rolled his eyes. He knew this guy was going to get on his nerves if he didn’t leave. “Beep beep Trashmouth,” the other kid said while flipping him off. He disappeared in the stairs and the neighbor turned back to Stan.
“So, what do you say to some real plans?”
“I have real plans to which I’m looking forward. So, why don’t you take your own advice and fuck off?” Stan shut the door as he walked back into his apartment before locking it.
Stan sat down, staring at his now cold tea. He was hoping that his neighbor was just drunk or something tonight. Stan did not want to deal with him and his boyfriend. He got back up, knowing he wasn’t going to get any reading done tonight now. Stan started pacing the room. This was supposed to be a fresh start.
Stan rubbed his wrist where his soulmate tattoo was. Well, tattoos. Of course, he’d be unlucky enough to have two names on his wrist and unlucky enough not to meet either of them. They weren’t even uncommon names or anything. Richard and Edward. Had to be common names.
A fresh start, he reminded himself. After what happened with his ex, he’d given up on soulmates. He wished he’d never gotten a tattoo in the first place. That’s the reason him and Patty had gotten so close. They were both made fun of for their tattoos or lack thereof.
Patty never seemed to mind that she didn’t have a tattoo. Her parents didn’t marry the person their tattoo said, and they were one of the best couples Stan knew. If there was one person that deserved a soulmate love that people sang and wrote about though, it was Patty. She’d been Stan’s support through everything and couldn’t imagine his life without her.
They were so close that they’d tried dating. It had lasted for half a day before they decided it was the worst decision they ever made. People still assumed they were dating. Not that Stan or Patty corrected them. They didn’t care what other people thought because they were fine with their relationship how it was.
As Stan got ready for bed, his thoughts drifted back to his neighbor. Why did the guy have to be so good looking? On top of that, Stan could tell the guy was charming. If it hadn’t been for the yelling and him getting hit by the door, Stan would have likely been swept away by the guy. Which wouldn’t be too bad, if he didn’t have a boyfriend. Stan groaned, falling onto his bed. Hopefully the guy had been so drunk and wouldn’t remember Stan.
Stan looked at his apartment complex in frustration. He hadn’t thought about the four-story climb when he was buying his groceries. The walk from the store had been hard enough. He started the walk upstairs; glad he had remembered reusable bags Patty had gotten him. He’s certain plastic bags would have ripped by now.
He lifted his leg to kick the door handle down so he could enter his floor. Right when he pushed his weight forward the door swung open on its own. For the second time since moving into his apartment, he found himself on the floor of his hallway. Well kind of on the floor.
When his leg dropped and he fell forward, he’d fallen into someone. He landed right on top of them. Stan was certain they looked like a disaster. There were cans rolling away down the hall from when Stan had tossed his bags to the side, hoping not to hit the stranger . His head was on the stranger’s chest as he tried to catch his breath.
Once Stan realized what had happened, he jolted away from guy. His hand landed on one of the cans and it rolled away from him. Stan’s head slammed into the wall. He groaned, rubbing the spot. Could he not make one good first impression with his neighbors?
He looked at the person he’d practically tackled. Was everyone in this building attractive? The guy had propped himself up on his elbows, looking around in confusion. His eyes widen when he looked at Stan. They sat there for a moment looking at each other.
“Shit, I’m so sorry. Oh my god, oh my god. I was just going to get the mail and I went to open the door and you must have been about to open it and stumbled forward. Let me help you get your things.” The guy spoke almost too quick for Stan to understand. He had already stood up and started picking up the food scattered around them.
“No, that’s alright. It was my fault.” Stan stood, picking up his bags as he did. The guy looked at him, arms full of groceries. “You can put those in my bags and then go get your mail.”
“Nah, I’ll have my boyfriend get it. Are you the guy that moved in recently? I was hoping to come over and introduce myself. Would have liked to make a better impression than this.”
Stan could tell that the guy was talking quicker and more than he probably would because he was nervous after their collision . He’d stopped outside of Stan’s door, waiting for him to open it. Stan unlocked the door, pushing it forward so the stranger could set down his arm load. Once Stan set his bags down the guy turned to him.
“I’m Eddie.”
Eddie. Stan tried not to show a reaction to the name. IT’S NOT HIM, he wanted to scream at himself. He couldn’t react every time he met someone that might be named Edward. Stan took Eddie’s outstretched hand and shook it.
“Stanley. It’s nice to meet you.”
Eddie squinted slightly and tilted his head, like he was trying to figure something out. Stan wasn’t sure what the look meant but shrugged it off. He offered Eddie something to drink before he started putting away his groceries.
“Do you have anything going on tonight?” Eddie asked. Stan raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer right away. “That seems weird. We’re having some friends over for a casual dinner and drinks type of thing. You should come, get to know the neighbors.”
Stan didn’t have plans. He thought it was weird to go over to Eddie’s, but Stan glanced at him and felt his stomach flip. There was no way he was passing up the opportunity to spend more time with Eddie. Maybe the curly haired neighbor would show up too.
“What time?”
“I mean, they’ll come by in about an hour or so, but if you don’t have anything going on you can come over now. That way you can meet them as they come in rather than all at once?”
And that’s how Stan ended up sitting in Eddie’s kitchen. His apartment was incredibly clean like Stan's. Unlike Stan’s though, it had stuff everywhere. There were pictures sitting out, magnets holding papers on the fridge, a guitar sitting in the corner, stuff that made the apartment lived in. It felt warm.
The longer Stan was around Eddie, the more he liked him. Which was a bad sign. One of the first things Stan learned about him was that he had a boyfriend and it was obvious after talking that Eddie adored him . He also noticed that Eddie wasn’t talking as quickly . Stan hoped that meant he was getting comfortable around him.
“So, why’d you end up moving here?”
Stan didn’t answer right away, not wanting to tell a practical stranger about his failed relationships . “It’s closer to my job.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the whole truth.
“What do you do?”
“I’m an acc–”
Stan was cut off by the front door slamming open. “EDS! You’ll never believe it. Our new neighbor is fucking hot.”
“Think before you speak, Richie,” Eddie yelled back at the new voice.
Stan’s head whipped up faster than he would have liked. Standing in the doorway was the guy from yesterday. Much to Stan’s dismay, he was as attractive as he was last night. The guy, Richie, leaned against the door and smirked. Was this some kind of trademark of his?
“Eddie, you’ll never believe it. Our new neighbor is fucking hot and in our apartment.”
“Could you be normal one time?” Eddie groaned. “Stan’s not going to want to hang out with me if you act like that.”
Richie’s eyes widened slightly at Stan’s name, but he turned to give Eddie a quick kiss before Stan could think more about the reaction . Stan glanced down at his cup, now feeling like an intruder in their lives. Maybe he should have rejected Eddie’s offer to come over today. Especially since he could see himself developing feelings for Eddie that someone should definitely not develop for their in-a-relationship neighbor .