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Richie sometimes relied on the losers to keep him in check. He was always getting into some kind of trouble, as he seemed to have no filter, and would make dirty jokes in front of teachers, as well as mouthing off to bullies, and therefore, the others needed to hold him back to save his ass more often than they probably should.
Bill, being the only loser with a little sibling, was the one with the most knowledge on how to keep the trash mouthed teen in check, especially when he was acting overly hyper or, to put it frankly, a bit annoying, although they all still loved him regardless.
The moment the losers met up that afternoon, Bill knew he would need to reign him in. Richie had that extra little spring in his step, and he was already talking at a mile a minute.
It wasn’t until they were down in the clubhouse that he really stepped it up, rambling off about some awful horror film he’d seen with Bev over the weekend, accidentally interrupting her every time she tried to chime in, and, of course, doing horrible imitations of the different characters as he recalled certain scenes.
Bill stood up from where he sat, and looked back at Stan who had a knowing grin on his face, and winked.
Without warning, he grabbed Richie by the waist and pulled him back so that he was on his lap, and he wrapped his arms around the smaller boy’s waist and held him there tightly.
“You w-were saying, Bev?” he asked, putting a hand over Richie’s mouth.
She laughed. “I was going to say that the lead girl was written really poorly. She’s just super boring and unlikeable.”
Richie licked Bill’s palm.
Bill wiped his palm down the side of Richie’s face, making him kick his legs indignantly, and Bill simply dug his fingers into Richie’s sides in retaliation.
Giggles came pouring out of his mouth instantly, and he tried to squirm away, but Bill held him close to his chest, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck for an extra tickle attack too, a technique he’d learned from tickling Georgie nearly to tears when they were younger.
“Well, I can’t talk over him laughing!” Bev teased, and Bill gave her an apologetic smile.
“I thought it was supposed to be your job to shut him up, not make him louder!” Mike joked.
Richie let out a whine through his laughter. “You’re all mean!”
“Oh, don’t pull that shit, Rich, you like it,” Eddie looked up from his comic to say, and there was a smirk curled on his face.
Richie went red and slid further down Bill’s lap, finally breaking free from his hold and curling up on the floor to catch his breath.
Bill leaned back, chuckling himself at how adorable his friend was.
And it was true, they all knew how much he enjoyed having the attention and affection placed on him, because he didn’t get much of it anywhere else, and they were all more than willing to give him as many hugs, reassuring words, and tickle fights as he needed.
And although he wasn’t good at showing it, they all knew that he was grateful for it.