"i don't actually agree," richie said, bumping stanley with his elbow. stanley turned his head, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
the two had gone to a museum as a part of their going on dates without anyone knowing they were dates. they were just hanging out, sure. they were standing right in front of a painting.
they'd been doing this for about four months now, so it came to them naturally not to be too affectionate. well, it came naturally to stanley. richie had to focus not to reach out for stanley's hand.
"you can't disagree with art. not well, anyway," stanley said. richie shook his head.
"i absolutely can, and i do."
stanley sighed lightly, "rich, that's a painting of a bird. what are you disagreeing with?" stanley had been captivated by this painting simply because of the bird. he'd always had a fondness for birds.
richie thought hard. "um... ethics?"
"you're the worst."
"you like it." richie said.
"..." slowly, stanley nodded, agreeing with richie.
richie looked around, noticing that no one else was in the room anymore, presumably because they had been driven out by richie's voice. quickly, he pulled stanley closer to him and left a kiss on his cheek. stanley looked at him in shock.
stanley glanced around, having the same realization that no one was around.
he kissed richie, taking him by surprise. the two broke away after a second and stanley went bright red, soon walking into the next room of the museum.
richie stood still in awe, a smile stuck permanently on his face.
richie moved along to follow stanley, his bag slipping off of his shoulder as he moved. he readjusted it and stood behind stanley, who was staring at a painting. reading off the wall, richie muttered "il disgelo," in what was probably an extreme butchering of the name.
the painting depicted two people, reading a book together in what appeared to be an attic of some kind. it felt sweet. intimate. stanley was frowning.
"i'm sorry." stanley mumbled in the quiet room. richie raised an eyebrow. "i wish i was out. i just don't... i can't..." stanley trailed off. richie stepped in front of him.
"you have nothing to apologize for, stan. it's okay. i'm just happy to be here with you." richie said, resisting the urge to take stanley's hand in his own.
-
later, stanley and richie went to richie's house, to spend the rest of the day hiding away in richie's room, sharing kisses.
on the front doorstep, richie got his keys out and stanley grabbed richie's shirt.
"hm?" richie turned, confused at what stanley waanted.
the sound of a car driving by went unnoticed as stanley pulled richie forward and kissed him. he felt brave. as they broke away, richie smiled, his hand on stanley's cheek.
"okay, you can open your door now." stanley laughed.
"what a lucky gal i am," richie remarked, his cheeks glowing red as he unlocked his front door.
