#well... not until lee's insecurity rears its ugly head later and we get the argument scene...

[greeneugene77]

When Eugene goes to Lee's apartment for the first time, he looks around and notices Lee's heroin kit.

His reaction to it is subtle, a slight furrow of his eyebrows, implying that he's probably realised what it is he's looking at. Heroin kits tend to look inconspicuous, it is not exactly something that would draw anyone's attention, unless they already know what one looks like. But before Eugene can really ponder the implications of it, Lee distracts him with the brandy.

A few minutes later, Eugene picks up one of the books from the coffee table, and Lee immediately springs into action, distracting Eugene from the book and inviting him to his bedroom. Said book is "Under the Volcano" by Malcolm Lowry, about an alcoholic man living in Mexico.

What these two instances show us is that Lee doesn't want Eugene to know about his history with addiction. At this point in his life Lee is completely off drugs, and his alcoholism is kinda manageable. Eugene tries to pry, but Lee won't let him.

Fast-forward to the South America trip, and Lee's behavior on the matter has made a complete 180.

Now back on drugs on the regular, he doesn't mind openly talking about, or doing drugs right in front of Eugene. He even sends Eugene to the pharmacy to get a bottle of paregoric for him.

For his part, Eugene seems... strangely fine with it? He's very playful with Lee around this time, which gives the impression that he's not taking the situation very seriously. My guess here is that Eugene probably hasn't caught on yet that Lee has an actual problem with drugs, and thinks this is just a fun once-in-a-while thing for him. Or maybe he has realised deep down, but doesn't want to acknowledge it, because doing so would mean having to deal with it as a real issue in their "relationship".

Then Lee gets junk sick, and his demeanor does a 180 all over again. Now he's deeply ashamed of his addiction. He cries when all Eugene manages to get him is a box of tums, but then immediately tries to pull himself back together.

This is also the point where Eugene can't just keep ignoring what is right in front of him. This isn't fun and games anymore, Lee needs help. Eugene's body language here is very interesting. Part of him is worried. Part of him is slightly disgusted. But more than anything else, his behavior screams to me "I have no idea how to deal with this". He doesn't know how to take care of someone, how to be a comforting and supportive presence for someone else. Still, he tries in whichever way he can. Because deep down he truly cares.

Later on, when the doctor asks Lee if he's addicted to opioids, there's a brief moment of hesitation where he turns to Eugene. Lee doesn't want to admit his addiction in front of him. Still, he sheepishly does so. Eugene reacts with a quiet, long stare at Lee while he's facing away from him in shame.

Normally, if it were any other "couple", this is what would prompt the inevitable conversation between them. Lee has shown one of the deepest parts of himself to Eugene, and Eugene in turn has acknowledged it. Now they need to figure out how to navigate this roadblock together...

But of course this is not at all what happens. Lee gets antihistamines to tone down the withdrawal symptoms, and then it's back to business as usual. No honest discussion. No resolution. Nothing.