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Max had a problem. A big one. One that a new friend could help him fix. Because he needed a solution and fast.
After only a moment's hesitation, he knocks on the door to the Fleming household. Someone short that looks tired opens the door. They smile up at him.
"Oh, hello, sweetheart. Ruthie's just upstairs." They step aside for him to walk in.
"Thank you." He says quietly.
"Mom!" Ruth groans down, hands holding the banister so she doesn’t fall down the stairs. "Didn't I ask you to stop calling me that?"
Ruth's mom smiles sweetly, closing the door behind Max. "I'm sorry, love. It's just hard to not see my little girl."
Ruth runs down the stairs, two at a time, sounding like she's tripped down. A woman calls out from the living room. "Ruth, stop running down the stairs."
"Sorry, momma!" She stops in front of Max with a wide smile and grabs his wrist, beginning to pull him upstairs. She calls back to her moms, "Love you mom, love you momma!" A chorus of reciprocated affection follows them as Ruth and Max walk upstairs and into Ruth's bedroom. It makes Max's chest ache.
Once they're both sat on the floor, backs against Ruth's twin bed, she looks at him with a smile. "What's on your mind, Max? Your message seemed life or death."
Max rolled his eyes. He hardly thought a message saying 'I need your help about something' was life or death, but maybe it would seem that way if he was going to Ruth about something. He exhaled and shifted, getting comfortable against the bed. "Where do I even start?"
"The beginning's always a good place." Ruth teased. Max can play this game, too.
"Okay so when a dickhead meets an asshole and they hate each other very very much, they have a failure." He puts an overexaggerated smile on his face before deflating and shrugging. "It's gonna fuck everything up if it doesn't get fixed. Because it will take away everything I've done over the past month." Ruth pouts and takes his hand, messing with his fingers.
"I'm sure that's just your brain overthinking things, Max. What's going on?"
Max groans and puts both hands - and by extension one of Ruth's - up to cover his face. "I've got a fucking crush. Like I'm twelve or something."
Ruth laughs slightly. "Is that it? I get crushes all the time." Max shakes his head.
"No, this isn't like. This isn't a 'I want to sleep with them' crush. This is more. This is-" He shakes his head and drops his hands to his knees and feels Ruth squeeze his hand. "This is everything they do makes me want to smile. Everything. Even if it's infuriating or stupid or." He squeezes Ruth's hand back after going silent.
"Them?" Ruth asks. She's careful, like she knows how delicate this conversation has become and will become.
Max pauses to consider. Ruth wouldn't care. Ruth likes both too. Ruth wouldn't care. This is why he went to Ruth.
"Him." He burns a hole into Ruth's matted pink carpet with his eyes and awaits a reaction he knows won't come. She rubs his arm with her other hand. "And it's- so fucking stupid. Because it would have never happened before. I didn't even think about it before. And then one thought happened, and then it kept happening, and I need it to stop, Ruth. I can't fucking think without him appearing in my head like a ghost."
"And you came to me because."
"You're like. The only person I could think of that wouldn't care." Max looks at her. "I mean. You're openly…" The word sticks to the roof of his mouth but he needs to get it out. "You're openly bi. And you talk about finding everyone attractive. And I know shit has changed, but I need to know how you get over it. How do you stop these fucking feelings."
There's sadness and pity in Ruth's expression. Max, oddly, doesn't really mind it from her. He feels pitiful right now. That he's begging for advice on how to get over this stupid crush.
"Who is he, Max?" Ruth asks. Max shakes his head and looks back at the carpet. "We aren't gonna get very far if I don’t know. Everyone is different. Maybe I have some blackmail on someone that'll make you stop liking them." She tugs on his hand. "Like, did you know that Pete wore an ugly sweater just because Steph said it was his color? It wasn't. It was this weird yellowy-orange color. I would have pulled it off, and that should tell you what kind of outfit it was." Ruth snickers and the laughter makes Max smile.
He still can't tell her though. She hums. "Okay, how about this?" He looks at her. "A yes/no game. I'll ask questions until I narrow it down enough to make a guess. At which point, you'll tell me if I'm right or not." Max sighs.
"Sure."
"Does he go to Hatchetfield?" She seems to be pulling on his leg.
"What kind of question- obviously, yes." He rolls his eyes. Ruth squeezes his hand and grins.
"Okay, just checking. Does he… do I know him?"
"Yeah." He fidgets with her fingers as he looks down. Ruth scoots slightly closer and lets him rest against her.
"Have I spoken to him?" She's either being intentionally broad or she genuinely has no idea.
"Yes."
"Is he friends with you?"
"I'd like to think so." He frowns.
"I'm sure he is, Max. You're a good person now. And if not a good person, then a better person at the least." She hums. "Is he friends with me?"
"Yeah." Max can feel her getting closer to the answer, his heart pounding in his head. He can feel his pulse pushing against his skin from the inside. He's glad Ruth can't see how scared he is from where he's resting on her head.
"Were we friends before the Waylon prank?"
Max's throat feels glued together. He nods.
"Max. Is it Richie?" Ruth's tone is indiscernible and he hides his face in the mass of curls on her head. He can feel the fear rising and he nods regardless. Ruth doesn't care. Ruth won’t care. Ruth won't care.
She tuts and wraps her arms around him tightly. Max reciprocates it, hiding his face in her shoulder. The hug stretches on and Max tightens his grip when he realizes he hasn't had a hug for years, enough to not even remember the last time he had one. Not even his teammates felt close enough to give a side hug after a win at a game. He really had himself to blame for that one.
"Kids, do you want anything to- oh dear, is everything okay?" Ruth's mom is at the door and Max wipes his eyes as they part from a hug. Ruth gives him a questioning look and he nods. He trusts her.
"Mom. You might actually be some help with this." Ruth starts. Her mom nods, sensing the tone and sitting down cross legged in front of them.
"What's the matter, sweet?"
"What was it like when you first liked a woman?" Ruth asks. Her mom smiles, sweetly.
"It was scary at first." They look at Ruth. "Where you and your momma always liked ladies, I didn't always feel like that. I had had plenty of boyfriends growing up and I really did love them too. Of course, back then, I was very sheltered so I didn't know what I was until I met your momma." They look down and play with a ring on their pointer finger. "She helped me a lot, you know? With accepting that I liked girls more than I even realized I did, and helping me realize that I could like both, and that I was neither. I got very lucky with her." They look back up and smiles at Ruth. "With both of you."
Ruth smiles back, warmly. "I just wanted to ask because." She squeezes his hand and Max squeezes back despite his shaking. "Max just realized he likes a boy and it’s the first time, and. Well he came to me for help."
Ruth's mom smiles warmly at him. "It's gonna be scary. But you've got a good friend in Ruth, and you are always welcome here if you need. Even if it's an unannounced visit in the middle of the night." They chuckle softly. "We might be a little grouchy, and we might be tired, but you'll always be allowed in."
Max can't help the water that rises in his eyes. Ruth's mom tuts and says a small 'oh' as he wipes his eyes. He hears them shuffle a little closer.
"Is it okay if I hug you, sweetheart?" They ask. When Max nods, it's instant warmth around him and he clings to them.
In the past however long he's spent at Ruth's house, he's felt more welcomed than he's felt ever in his own home. He cries into their shoulder and feels Ruth join the hug from his other side and he reorients to clutch at her arm, holding it close.
---
Max becomes a regular at Ruth's house. He can tell the shift is noticeable by how Pete and Richie acted at first, but even they eased into the new routine of it all sooner than he'd thought. Ruth's moms were nice, too. Though there was no surprise in that. If nobody could find Max otherwise, there was always a good chance that he'd be at Ruth's house.
He's lying on the floor when Ruth brings it up. "Richie and Pete are coming over today."
Max blinks. "Okay."
She narrows her eyes at him from where she's lying on the bed. "You need to say something to Richie. I can't stand you pining from the sidelines for much longer." Max snorts.
"That's not happening, Ruth." She huffs.
"If you don't then I will."
"Ruth." He raises an eyebrow at her.
"Come on, it's like. So obvious. I think even Pete's realized. And he only just realized that he likes Stephanie." Ruth hangs the top half of her body upside down over the edge of the bed.
"That's dramatic. He always knew he liked her, he just didn't say anything until now." Max shakes his head.
"No, I'm not kidding. He said to me, the other day, 'I think I like Steph' and I went 'no duh' and he went 'no, like in a romantic way' and I went 'no duh'. Regardless…" She flips her legs over her head so she's laying over Max's stomach, winding him in the process. "Speaking from experience there, Maxie-boy? How long have you been crushing on our dear Richard, anyway?"
Max attempted to push her but she just wriggled enough to make any movements meaningless. "Not. Telling." Ruth gasps.
"For a while then?!" She grins. "A month? Two? Half a year? Come on, how long have you secretly had the hots for him while pushing him into lockers?"
Max manages to push her off of his stomach enough so he can sit up and lift his knee into her own stomach, causing her to yell.
Ruth's momma, Cindy, calls up "Kids, stop fighting!"
"Yes, momma…" Ruth calls back as she gets off of Max's lap. She grins at him and before he can move away, she tackles him, once again sitting on him. "I'm not moving until you tell me how long it's been. And don't give me any of that 'I dunno how long' because I know you've thought about it enough to be embarrassed about it."
"What if, instead of telling you how long it’s been, I say you can lessen up on the hiding it. Like if anyone questioned it or me, I would tell them." Max had been debating it for a while, anyway, and this seemed like a good compromise to suggest for Ruth and it might actually push him to actually be more open about it.
Ruth narrows her eyes, assessing him. "Can I make bi jokes?" Max sighs.
"If you need to." Ruth grins.
"Mom!"
"Yeah, hon?" Marty calls back up the stairs.
"I can say you have two bi kids to my friends now!" Ruth grins.
"That’s great, love! I'm proud of you both!" They seem happy.
Despite the anxiety that's now beating alongside his blood, Max is happy with this development.
"Wait, what do you mean two bi kids?"
---
Richie and Pete arrive later that afternoon, and Max's worry is erased when Ruth doesn't immediately say anything. She is complimenting Richie enough for it to be noticeable, though.
They're all sat in Ruth's room when she grins. "My moms have all but adopted Max now." It feels like a setup and Max resigns himself to his fate, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes. He can feel the confused looks from the other two. "I mean, then they'll have two bi kids." He holds back the urge to point and say 'and there it is'.
"Ruth…" He groans, instead, pulling his hands down from his face.
"What?" She smiles innocently at him. "You told me I could say it. And the other thing." She reminds him, as if he needed reminding of a conversation that happened a few hours ago.
Peter blinks. "The other thing?"
Ruth gives him a look as if to say 'you said you'd say if they asked'. Max gives her an unimpressed look back before turning to Peter.
"That I realized cos I liked someone." Ruth groans at his response.
"But you said-!"
"I didn't say I'd say who it was." Max smiles, pushing her.
"You're a dickhead." Ruth pouts, before turning to Richie again. "Is that a new phone case?"
"Uh- no?" He just looks more and more confused this whole conversation and Max has to look away. He catches Peter realize what this is about from the corner of his eye. Max has to give him credit, he knows how to be subtle about it. He doesn't even shift in his seat, just a small widening of his eyes as he looks at Max.
Max looks back at him and gives him the smallest nod he can. At least two people know now.
---
Ruth needs to reel it in. Max has been listening to her compliment Richie again and again all day and it was funny at first but even Richie's growing concerned by it.
Ruth is laying on her front and smiles at Richie coyly. "That shirt looks great, Richie."
"… Right." He says, frowning.
"I bet it would look even better on Max's floor." It's just different enough from all the others that it startles a laugh out of Max.
"Are you hitting on Richie for me?" He asks Ruth, smiling. He doesn't process the eyes on him until after he's said it. And then he feels like a deer caught in headlights. He doesn't move. If he doesn't even breathe, they won't notice him. Fear sinks to the bottom of Max's stomach like a pit and he wants to sink with it.
Ruth's grinning, Pete looks uncaring if not slightly offput, and Richie looks shellshocked.
"Yes, the whole day." She moves so she's laying with her head across his lap. "So glad you finally asked if I was. Can't believe I had to spell it out for you."
Max locks his eyes to the ground. Fuck, he's screwed. He's messed this all up. He's gonna be back to nothing.
"What?" Richie asks, his tone high.
Pete stands up and tugs on Ruth's leg. "C'mon." He mutters. Ruth complains but is ushered out of her own room, the door shutting fast but is slowed suddenly as it nears the frame, shutting softly. He simultaneously appreciates and hates Ruth right now.
"She was just joking, right?" Richie asks. "I mean, that's Ruth. She fucks around. Ships her friends." Max doesn't know what a ship is but he's glad to have an out if he needs to take one.
Does he need to take it?
Fuck it.
"Nah, she wasn't." He blinks. "Well. She was. But about the shirt thing. You've definitely worn that before." Max swallows. "I'm sure you can make the connection otherwise."
He doesn't look at Richie as he waits for the reaction. It's not very fulfilling of a confession. It's not like he knows exactly if he loves Richie. But he does like him, likes the idea of being with him. And the thought of it being out there for Richie to inspect and look at is a terrifying thing. These feelings were fine being intangible with Ruth. They were easy to ignore when Richie wasn't around.
"Ruth isn't making you do this, right?" It's an odd question, Max shakes his head.
"No, I told her she could." He frowns, looking at Richie. He looks scared. Why?
"No, like she didn't put you up to this? Suggested it first and then you said she could?"
Max tilts his head slightly. "Why would she do that?"
"Because for as much as you're a reformed dick, Ruth's always been one." Richie frowns, rubbing his arms.
Max shakes his head again. "No, she didn't suggest this. I did. Richie, I'm telling you I like you." The absurdity and confusion manages to cut through most of the fear about this. Richie balks.
"What?" He laughs, shaking his head. "No. This has to be a joke."
"It's not. I cried and everything." He said it like a joke, but he inwardly cringed slightly at the truth of it.
Richie looks like he's about to say something but Pete and Ruth walk back in. Pete crosses his arms and frowns at them.
"You're both idiots who like each other. Now can we please return to playing mario cart without Ruth complimenting Richie for Max?"
Max blinks. "What?"
Ruth throws up her own arms. "God, Richie you didn't even tell him?!" Richie leans away, hands up defensively.
"I don't know what you want from me."
"For you to fuck! Obviously!" Ruth rolls her eyes. Max wants the ground to swallow him up. He puts his hands at his temples and stares at the floor, begging it to just open up from beneath him.
"Calm down, Ruth." Peter says, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"And you!" She turns to him, pointing at him in his chest. "Oh my god, please get your shit together and ask Steph out, she has been waiting for like. A month at this point." She crosses her arms and moves to the doorway, turning back to look at the boys. "I'm gonna go ask Mom for snacks. If I come back and Pete still doesn't have a girlfriend and Max and Richie are still so far apart I will kill someone, do not test me." She narrows her eyes before leaving.
Silence washes over everyone and they all stare at where Ruth was just standing.
"I'm facing away." Pete says, making a show of standing on Ruth's bed and facing the corner to pull out his phone.
Max and Richie look to each other. What the fuck was happening. Richie sighs and crawls over to sit beside Max against the bean bag he's been leaning against. He hums before placing his head on Max's shoulder silently and using that point of contact to push them both into laying on the bag. Max lets out a small oof before looking down at Richie.
Richie takes Max's hand and traces each digit slowly with a finger of his own. Static blooms from each drag of skin. Max's throat feels so dry but yet he speaks quietly.
"Will you go out with me?" He feels like a kid, asking a girl out again. Except this isn't a girl on the playground, it's Richie. Richie's who's here and warm and laying on him. Richie who's already holding his hand and who squeezes it when he finishes asking the question. He looks up at Max like, despite everything that's just happened, he doesn't believe it's real.
"Yeah, okay." His lips twitch into a smile and Max can't help but smile back at him.