Title: To friendship
Author: Ligeia
Fandom: Richy Guitar
Characters: Richy/Igor
Rating: PG
Category: Romance
Summary: Igor hated Anja.
Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Disclaimer: this is a work of fiction. Richy Guitar and all related characters were originally created by Michael Laux. I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.
Igor hated Anja. He hated her perfect perm and expensive make up and polished shoes. She was so middle-class. He couldn't understand what Richard saw in her. Richard who was always arguing with his parents because the music was too loud, Richard who shouted at cops, Richard who only ever wore punk bands T-shirts and ripped trousers and spiked bracelets. He couldn't understand.
And then Richard had told him he was moving in with her, he had found an old house in Kreuzberg that was just perfect and could he please help him carry his stuff there. Igor had said yes, of course, because friends always help each other out, but had been quite annoyed when they had made a detour and stopped at City Music to fetch Anja.
So there he was now, wandering around a decrepit abandoned flat that was about to become his best friend's love nest. Anja didn't look impressed. Which Igor found rather out of place, considering she was living in a caravan. What did she expect, a villa with a big garden and a fine view over the lake?
Richard on the other hand was positively beaming. Even though he hated his crappy job at the concrete factory, he went on and on about how cool it was to finally have enough money to live on his own, get a flat (Igor pointed out he was squatting) and buy those great new amps (Igor told him he had only paid the deposit, Richard said he would think about the rest later). Not even the broken tap turning the so-called bathroom (or was it supposed to be the kitchen?) into a swimming pool seemed to bother him.
Igor had never seen him so happy. He told himself the weird feeling constricting his stomach was due to the musty smell of the old flat.
+++
"Hey, have you heard about Richard?"
Igor didn't look at the girl who was sitting next to him. He wondered why he had even asked her out. He put the cigarette to his lips and took a long drag.
"What, did he finally make it to the cover of Bravo?"
"His girlfriend dumped him."
He dropped the cigarette on the table.
"Shit."
+++
Igor wanted to punch Anja's angel face. Girl or not, he just wanted to hit her until all the make up in the world wouldn't be enough to cover up the bruises. Not only had she dumped Richard without a reason, she had gone and hooked up with that arsehole. The same arsehole who had made fun of Richard and his music. The same arsehole who had got to be Nena's opening act while Richard and Igor had only got jobs as roadies. The same arsehole who had belittled him in front of her. Igor would have done something worse than steal his band's equipment, something involving a bleeding nose, a shiner and possibly a broken tooth or two, but he had to admit it had been a great idea. They needed new amps for the upcoming concert anyway and imagining the face that damn Nick Cave wannabe had made when he had found out his stuff was missing was definitely an entertaining thought.
Too bad the little fucker had proved himself an even bigger bastard than Igor thought possible: he had gone and stolen the only decent saxophonist they knew. A week before their gig.
Igor threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it with his foot, imagining it had short brown hair and too much lip gloss on.
+++
"Nice punch!" Igor said running up to Richard. "The arsehole sure deserved it."
Richard didn't even look at him. He walked deeper into the woods, stooping down to avoid the lowest branches.
"Richard."
"What?" Richard sounded annoyed.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong. You can stop following me now."
"No."
Richard stopped abruptly and turned around. "What do you want?"
Igor lifted the bottle of champagne and flute glasses he had nicked at the party and gave him a hopeful smile. "I thought we could celebrate?"
Richard blinked. "And what are we supposed to celebrate?"
Igor shrugged. "No idea. Our first gig? Hans's new nose? Whatever you want, really."
Richard opened his mouth and closed it again. He shook his head and reached for one of the glasses. "Why ever not?"
Igor's grin was impish as he opened the bottle and poured champagne for both of them. "To our brilliant career as rockstars!"
Richard raised his glass and gave him a wistful little smile. "To friendship."
Igor touched his glass to Richard's and swallowed the champagne in one gulp.
"You're supposed to sip it, you savage."
Igor raised an eyebrow at him. "And since when are you the master of elegance? Besides, I've had enough wine at the party, I can't taste it anymore."
"So why are you drinking this?"
"Because I want to see stars spin around me."
Richard smiled and Igor thought he didn't need to drink anymore.
+++
"I miss her."
The words were spoken so softly Igor wouldn't have heard them if he hadn't been sitting right next to Richard.
"Anja?" Even her name sounded unpleasant to Igor's ears.
Richard nodded. He folded up his legs and leaned forward, crossing his arms over his knees and resting his chin on them. "Maybe if I hadn't lost my job, if I had more money..."
"No," Igor interrupted him. "If she really loved you, she would have stayed no matter what. You shouldn't pine after such a bitch." Richard glared at him. "Sorry. It's just that... You deserve so much better, Richy." He toyed with his friend's bleach blond hair. He wasn't wearing a hat for once. "She can't even imagine what she's missing."
Richard sighed. "Things would be so much easier if one of us was a girl." He looked at Igor and smiled sheepishly. "But then I'd lose my best friend."
Igor's throat felt suddenly dry. He reached for the bottle and found it empty.
"We're out of wine," he said, his voice sounding far too strained.
"We ought to go, anyway." Richard stretched out his legs and stood up. He offered a hand to Igor, who just stared dumbly at it, then up at the blonde's face. "Do you want to spend the night here?"
Igor grabbed the hand and let himself be pulled to his feet. The forest swam a bit before his eyes and he leaned against Richard.
"You shouldn't have drunk so much," Richard said putting an arm around his waist and guiding him towards the shore. Igor hoped the van was still there, otherwise they would really have to spend the night in the woods. They didn't even have a blanket. Suddenly, images of various ways they had to keep each other warm materialised in his mind. Banishing them required quite an effort. He had clearly drunk too much.
Luckily the van was still there and so was Hans. After some mutual apologies Richard and Igor sat in the back while the bassist drove them back to civilisation. Igor tried to convince himself the funny feeling in his stomach was caused by the alcohol and not by the warm body pressed against his. Or the arm that was still placed around his waist in a protective gesture.
When said arm slid slowly downward, he turned his head. Richard's eyes were closed and his lips parted just slightly, his breathing regular and deep. Careful not to wake him, he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against his friend's. He pulled back slowly, relieved to see Richard was still sleeping, and rested his head back on his shoulder.
He was still smiling when he finally fell asleep.
-----
January 2008