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Mike Hanlon was an outsider.
He didn't mind it, not exactly. Being an outsider wasn't a terrible thing, it just meant that sometimes he noticed things other people didn't—sorry, most of the time, he noticed everything.
In hindsight, it really isn't his fault that he knows things he probably shouldn't, because the more he thinks about it the more he gets slightly annoyed about it all.
He wouldn't tell anyone directly about it.
He knew how risky that was: telling people about his assumptions, considering assuming stuff could easily turn into rumors that would turn into drama that could lead into far more bullying than the rest of them already had enough of during the school years.
He knew a lot about that kind of bullying.
He knew it well.
The taunts, the name calling, the 'harmless' words, the insults that were never a joke but were constantly laughed at in response, the feeling of being in the spotlight without actually being popular, the feeling of being seen without anyone really looking at you.
While it wasn't the same situation, it was the same undertones. It was Derry, after all.
What Richie and Eddie had, it wasn't simply a friendship.
It was more than that.
And shit, it was driving him crazy.
Mike lets out a sigh as he watches yet another argument unfold between the two of them. Not a serious one, obviously. More of the typical teasing, affectionate, disgusting bickering that occurred between often, sometimes without them realizing it. They just fall into it.
"You're serious? That's not even apart of the game, Rich! You're making this up—"
"Make believe is the point of the game!"
"So that means you have to make the knight have a girlfriend?!"
"If I want the knight that I created to have a gorgeous, amazing girlfriend named Edina then he's going to have one."
"Are you being this way right now?" Eddie scoffs, "That's not apart of the fucking game!"
Richie shrugs, "Jealousy doesn't look that great on you, man."
"I'm jealous? You're the one not playing by the rules, when you brought the game over!"
"Dragonlance can only be played with adjustments. It's boring otherwise!"
Eddie glares at him, shoulders tense and fists clenched so tightly it looked like he was close to exploding at any moment.
Richie grins, leaning over to wrap an arm around Eddie's shoulder. He whispers something into Eddie's ear, something that immediately makes him stop being tense.
The board game that sat between the six of them remained untouched as everyone started talking amongst themselves, campaign immediately becoming forgotten about.
Mike lets himself picture it.
The two of his best friends together. Like, actually together, dating. He imagines them getting comfortable enough to be closer around the rest of The Losers, or them kissing.
Which was weird to think about, but the more he thought about it the more less it seemed.
Because all he could think about was how much sense it made for them to get together.
(Eddie, accepting the other half of a sandwich from Richie despite the fact that Richie never shares with anyone. Eddie being scared of food usually, but eating the sandwich with ease.
Richie always being around Eddie, lingering behind him or next to him as if he was waiting for something to happen, like he was ready to protect Eddie in case of anything.
Richie and Eddie sleeping together during their annual sleepovers: more closer to each other than they've ever been, cuddling, holding one another so tightly for no reason.
Eddie, always calming down instantly whenever Richie's by his side.
Richie, knowing what to say to Eddie to be able to distract him from anything.)
They both loved each other so much yet they couldn't see it and it killed Mike.
He understood why they didn't make any attempts to get together, at least not in front of everyone else, they were living in Derry.
Who knows what could happen to them if they ever dared to be open about… being queer.
Mike would accept them.
The Losers would accept them, too, obviously.
But, he's not too sure about the rest of the town.
The thought of it made him feel uneasy.
He quietly adjusts the collar of his shirt, looking at the others: Richie and Eddie talking, their hands a little too close to each other. Ben looking nervous as Beverly talks about anything and everything all at once, not noticing how flushed Ben seemed somehow.
Yeah, that also kills him inside a bit.
He glances at Stan and Bill, who were quietly talking to each other, but making quick glances at Richie and Eddie every once in a while.
Which was weird.
Unless they knew what he's known since the first time they all had a sleepover together.
Mike hesitates, fingers slowly tapping against the table as he observed the two of them.
He could go up to them. He wouldn't outright admit that he wholeheartedly believed that Richie and Eddie liked each other, that would be insane. He'd make an attempt to be subtle with it, ask if they've noticed if the two had been acting… strange, recently.
If they said no, he would leave it alone. Admit that he's lost it. Maybe go scream into his pillow about it because for some unknown reason nobody ever sees what he sees and it's so frustrating.
But if they said yes—
He imagines himself listening to the both of them, nodding, saying too little and too much all at once in response, simply being there.
Being included.
Mike quietly rolls his sleeves up, taking another glance at the duo before standing up and walking over to them.
Their eyes lock onto him almost instantly once he got closer, which made him a bit more nervous than it should have.
Suddenly, the slight confidence that he had to say what he wanted vanished into thin air. Now he just wanted to go back to his seat, sit down, and be alone with his own thoughts like usual.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, looking down at the floor like it was the most interesting thing on earth.
I could be crazy, Mike thought to himself, a nervousness settling in his stomach.
There was no easy way to start this conversation.
He didn't know how to start it at all.
What if he said anything and the two of them looked at each other with that look?
What if they didn't get it?
What if—
"What's wrong?" Stan asks, "…You alright?"
Great. He'd been standing there long enough to look like a weirdo.
He sighs, looking up at the two of them, who were looking back at Mike with a soft expression he didn't feel like interpreting at all.
They always did that.
He didn't hate it, but he didn't like it that much.
It just felt like they were trying to see what was going on inside of his head.
He clears his throat, forcing himself to look the other way. "I'm fine, I just.." He starts slowly, unconsciously tapping his fingers against his legs. "…This might sound a little crazy to you."
Bill raises an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
"I don't know how to say this without seeming, insane." Mike murmurs. Because it was true.
It didn't feel right to bring it up to anyone, to say such a thing regarding two people he was never really that close with to start off. But bringing it up to the duo themselves was a definite hard no—he couldn't do that.
Then there was Stanley and Bill, who looked ready to hear anything he had to say in general.
Okay, he wasn't going to address that either.
He stuffs his hands into his pockets to stop himself from fidgeting, before he finally looks at them.
"Have you guys noticed that Richie and Eddie have been acting weird?"
There was silence from the two of them.
And then—
Stan lets out a sigh, sounding relieved.
"So you noticed it too?"
"It's been years and nothing has changed."
"Bill doesn't want to admit it but it's been so hard to not grab them by the shoulders and tell them that it's so obvious that they—"
The two rambles on, overlapping each other's sentences so much Mike couldn't comprehend anything that they were saying in the slightest. Stan knew because Richie always acted weird around guys and Bill knew because of Eddie.
And for some reason, Mike knowing that he wasn't the only one who noticed it made him feel so good, the fact that he wasn't crazy.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to see it.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to see Eddie open up more, to see Richie touch him without an entire lifetime of fear making him terrified to do more than an arm wrapped around the shoulder, to see them laughing together.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to see two people that loved each other be happy together.
He wasn't the only one who wanted to see what they were like when they weren't holding anything back out of fear.
Mike looks back at Richie and Eddie, focusing on how close they were—as if they were in a bubble made just for them and nobody could ruin it even if they tried to.
He tries to not let himself get too far in imagining what could come next, within the next few years.
But with the way Richie looked at Eddie, he doubted that it would take any longer for them to get together. They just needed a push.
A sign, maybe.
He hopes they'd get it sooner or later.