A.N: This is based on my picture Richie Bug, for the LJ community The Gas Station Of Solitude, though you CAN find it in my DA. This is a one-shot. I hope you all like it!

Disclaimer: Nope. Richie isn't mine. Just the story-line and picture. Don't sue!!

Richie-Bug

"So this is your place, huh?" Virgil asked as he and Richie walked through the door she had opened for them. It was a nice apartment, large, and in a good neighborhood. It was apparent that the woman of the house chose the interior decorating. They were standing in a large hallway, with various doors on either sides. The closest room, the family room, had no in the large opening that led to it. The wall paper were hues of red, orange, and yellow, adorned with flowers. Pictures and paintings hung between the doors and separate hallways that led elsewhere.

"Yeah. Daisy's on her way over. She'll be here in a few minutes." Frieda closed the door and checked her watch. "The movie doesn't start for quite a while. About two hours." She looked up."Guys?" She looked around, seeing no one. Then she heard talking in the next room. She walked out of the main hall into the immediate right opening.

Standing next to her parents' flat screen TV and hoard of various movies and video games, were the two gawking boys. "Bro! Look! It's the whole Zombie Hunter series!" Richie pressed his face to the glass casing which housed all the movies and such. Virgil was on one knee, looking at the surround-sound system.

Frieda cleared her throat, gaining both boys' attention. "That's my dad's stuff. Please don't touch. He'll flip." She pointed back to the main hallway. "We're going to be in my room. Mom said she didn't want anything touched or broken or whatever."

Richie and Virgil looked at her with pouty faces. "Aww. Come on. We won't hurt it." The mocha-skinned teenager whined as he stood up. Richie smiled and nudged his friend in the side with his elbow.

"Didn't you hear her, V? She said we were going to her room. Without her parents home." Richie wished he'd had a camera because the look on Frieda's face was priceless. Her mouth was agape and her eyes wide. Virgil was still next to him, holding a hand over his mouth to suppress his laughter.

A small blush settled over her cheeks. "In your DREAMS, Foley!" She turned around and pretended to rip out her hair.

"So? What if it is?" Richie retorted. He burst into a fit of laughter as Frieda glared at him, with a half-annoyed, half-creeped out expression.

Virgil stopped laughing, and raised a brow. He found Richie's comment so.. Fake. He knew Frieda wasn't the person the super-genius thought about during those extra long showers he would take at two in the morning sometimes when he'd spend the night at Virgil's.

They'd experimented a few times after the second Big Bang. It was just kissing, but when Virgil thought about it, it made his heart soar all the same.

Virgil shook his head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. "Okay." He said to the brunette after she seemed to calm down. "Throw in some sodas and we'll go quietly." He displayed his wrists as though they were handcuffed.

Frieda led them down the hallway, turning right into a smaller hall at the end of it, and stopped a purple door with a hot pink sign that spelled her name in shimmery glitter. She grabbed the handle and paused as the doorbell rang. Quickly, she opened the door and turned around. "There is Daisy. Go ahead in and I'll get the drinks." She moved aside to allow the others in and briskly walked away, disappearing as she turned the corner.

Richie and Virgil stood, gaping at the room, and it's ridiculous amount of purples.

The walls were a light violet, aligned with posters and pictures of celebrities; Mostly Back Street Boys. A plum-colored comforter was neatly sprawled over the twin-sized bed on the right side of the room, full of dark purple-hued carpet was a very light teal, giving the room a certain softness. A purple and silver Victorian vanity mirror that was nailed to the wall, along with a matching vanity desk and velvet chair, resided on the left wall. A white closet door next to the mirror was partly opened, revealing a monstrosity of clothes and shoes. On the far wall, opposite where the two boys stood, was a glass door with light-pink see-through curtains that opened to a balcony. The whole room smelled of soft lavender.

"Geeze, Frieda. Like purple much?" Richie mumbled to no one. He spotted the mirror and decided to investigate the contents on the below it. Nothing more than the usual: Makeup, hair products, nail polish, etc.

He leaned closer to get better view of the various jewelry piled together in an open jewelry box. As he did so, something in the closet caught his attention and his eyes adverted to the door. He leaned toward the inside to get a better view, but before figuring out exactly what it was, a voice from behind caught him by surprise.

"Hey guys."

Richie whirled around. Daisy walked in carrying a Coke and a small, yellow box, a bit smaller than a shoebox, that had words he couldn't make out printed on it. Frieda was right behind her, holding three sodas. She tossed the boys a Coke each and moved to her bed. With one hand, she tossed four of the pillows to the ground near the balcony door.

Daisy sat down on her knees, gently putting her drink and the box next to her, and Frieda soon followed, plopping on the carpet while balancing her soda can. Virgil and Richie glanced at each other before sitting cross-legged next to each other.

"Okay, guys." Daisy began. "We have the perfect game to play: Truth or Dare." The two girls giggled. Virgil tilted his head. Frieda had asked him to come early, but she had said it was so they didn't flake out again. This felt.. planned.

Richie rubbed the back of his head, confused. "Aren't we supposed to see a movie? Why are we going to play a petty girls' slumber-party game?" He quieted when both girls shot him a look.

"We're playing this, like it or not. And no cheating. When you get truth, you HAVE to tell the truth. No matter what." Frieda crossed her arms over her chest, waiting. Both boys looked away, mouths in straight, disapproving lines. She let out an exasperated sigh. "Promise us on your friendship that you'll tell the truth."

"And do the dares." Daisy added.

Virgil shook his head. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you say we have to promise on our friendship? Why?"

Daisy looked at them sternly. "Because no matter what, we know you won't put your friendship on the line just for a stupid game. This is just so we know you won't lie. At all."

A small blush settled on Richie's cheeks. He smiled at the truth of the her words. He'd never be willing to put their friendship on the line, even if it means going through humiliating questions and tasks. "I'm not scared." He proclaimed. "I promise to tell the truth, and do every dare you throw at me." He sat up confidently. "Bring it." He smiled and turned to Virgil, who was watching him. With a slight nod, he gave Virgil a silent, comforting agreement, that no matter what, they'd tell the truth. Even if it scarred the other two mentally. Virgil smiled and turned back to Frieda and Daisy.

"Okay. I'm in." He held up his right hand. "I promise, on me and Rich's friendship, to not lie, and will do every dare thrown our way."

"Okay!" Frieda clapped her hands and turned to Virgil. "You first. Truth or dare?"

Virgil pondered for a moment. "Truth." He hoped he wouldn't regret it. Daisy scooted the box into the middle of the four. She opened the lid and set it aside. Inside were a pile of cards with writing printed on them.

Frieda reached for the card on the top and read it aloud. "What is the strangest dream you've ever had?" She looked up and Virgil tapped his chin.

"The strangest dream.." He mumbled to himself. 'Well, there was that one where I was getting chased by llamas, or the one nightmare Madelyn gave me, or.. Oh God. Not that one!' He glanced up at the other teens, who were eagerly awaiting his answer. He thought about telling the one with the zombie llamas, but when he looked at Richie, he closed his eyes and summoned all his strength. 'Be brave, Virg. You promised.' He opened his eyes again and took a deep breath. "Well.. Um.. Its really, really weird. Okay?" He fingered with soda can tip, completely avoiding all eye-contact. "See.. I.. Um. I was in an old gas station that was abandoned."

Richie, who had been fidgeting with the pillow he was given to sit on, shot his head up at the mention of their HQ.

"I found an empty bottle of whipped-cream. T-then I heard some muffled sounds coming from a back room." Virgil braved a quick glance up, and seeing Richie's eyes widen, chose to focus his eyes elsewhere. He continued. "When I walked back there.." He could feel the heat on his cheeks rise with every word, and as he thought about how to word it correctly, felt that much more embarrassed. "I found.. someone.. naked.. tied to a bed, covered in the whipped-cream.." He was picking at the carpet now, wishing he'd never agreed to play. He could feel the eyes of all three teens boring into him.

After a few moments, Frieda spoke up. "Well? Who was the person?" Virgil looked up very slowly, contemplating on whether or not he should say so. He hesitantly turned his head to the flushed blond sitting next to him, but quickly turned away.

"It was.. Rich." he whispered. 'If I make it through this, I promise I'll stop eating cans of whipped cream and thinking about my best friend in bad ways at the same time!' Virgil was pulled from his internal promise as a hand patted his shoulder. When he looked, he saw Richie giving him an awkward smile.

"Don't worry about it, bro." He said, reassuringly. He removed his hand and shrugged. "Everyone has fantasies about me. Who could blame ya?" He snickered before Frieda's pillow impacted against his face. He held the pillow there a moment, and snuck a quick wink to Virgil.

The dark meta-human sighed, grateful Richie had played it off as a joke so the girls weren't too creeped out.

"Okay, Virgil. Your embarrassment is over." Said Frieda. "You pick who gets asked next, and draw a card after they choose truth or dare. Then flip it to the side they chose." Virgil nodded and looked around. Diagonal from him was Daisy.

"Daisy." He challenged. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Virgil nodded and pulled a card, flipping it over to the side that said TRUTH in pink lettering. "Which person in the room would you least want to have with you on a deserted island and why?" He placed the card in the discard pile, where one already was from his turn.

Daisy looked at Frieda and immediately shook her head. She considered Richie for a moment, then Virgil, and back to Richie. "I dunno." She finally answered. "Frieda would be a lot of fun." She glanced at the brunette next to her. "But you guys." She stared down Richie, who was looking at her from behind the pillow he still held. "Richie, you'd be too busy with video games and comic books. Then after a few months, you'd poof." Daisy turned her glare to Virgil, who was pretending to be occupied with his soda, only taking a moment to glance at her over the can. "You, Virgil, would just.. Poof! You'd disappear and make up some lame excuse." She crossed her arms and smiled innocently, as if she had never said anything. "So I don't know who I'd choose."

Frieda shrugged off the tensity of the group and reminded Daisy it was her turn to choose a person and draw a card. She picked Frieda, who chose dare.

She recited the card. "Say two really nice things about each player."

It was a cheesy one, sure, but way better than having to tell your weirdest dream. "Okay, easy." Frieda smiled humbly. "Daisy. You're super smart and you can do makeup way better than anyone I know." Daisy smiled, satisfied. Frieda then looked to Virgil. "You. Um.." She looked to the ceiling.

"Hey! There are good things about me!" He said, defensively.

Frieda laughed. "Okay. You are good at making excuses and you aren't bad on the eyes." She shifted her gaze to the blond as Virgil huffed. "You, Richie." She glanced at Daisy, silently preparing her for a coming joke. "You are the prettiest guy I know, and could totally win a beauty pageant!"

Virgil nearly choked on the soda he was in the process of drinking. He covered his mouth as he cough-laughed so hard, he thought he might die. Richie, however, was not amused. "I'm not pretty! And I wouldn't win a stupid pageant! I'm a guy!"

Frieda shrugged and flashed him a grin. After Virgil had caught his breath, he slapped the blushing blond on the back. "Yeah! You'd make a great Miss Dakota!" Virgil received a punch to the arm.

"Okay, okay." Daisy made downward waving motions with her hands to calm the others down. "Richie. You're last, so Frieda draws a card for you."

Frieda shifted so she, too, was sitting cross-legged. She propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. "Okay, Miss Dakota. Truth or dare?"

Richie rolled his eyes and opened his mouth, but caught himself before responding with 'truth'. He closed his mouth and looked at her, challenging. "Ya know what?" He said with a sense of courage in his voice. "I'm not scared. I choose dare." Freida pulled a card, and when she read it, smirked.

"It says: Wear an outfit of drawer's choice, and the person on your right makes a scene for you to pose in a picture."

Richie leaned over and snatched the card out of her hand. "Do what!?" Next to him, he heard Virgil try to stifle a laugh. The flustered genius angrily turned to him. "What are you smiling about? YOU have to take the picture!" Richie exclaimed.

Virgil immediately stopped laughing and grabbed the card from Richie, and looked around. Yup. He was on Richie's right.

Frieda and Daisy jumped up, grabbing Richie's sweater and pulling him up with them. "We have the PERFECT outfit!" Frieda yelled. They drug him over to the closet and pointed to something that Virgil couldn't see from his position, as he was still on the floor.

"Oh, you've GOT to be kidding me!" Richie struggled from their gripped and backed up, hands in the air, defensively.

"Richard Foley! Didn't you promise over you and Virgil's friendship," Daisy made a motion with her arm to the dumbfounded teen still sitting on the ground. "that you'd do any dare?" Richie looked at his friend, and his face softened considerably. He dropped his arms in surrender.

"Fine.." Before being pushed into the closet, Richie looked at Virgil, and with a glare, moved his lips to say 'you owe me'. He was shoved into the closet and Daisy closed the door. She spun happily around, clasping her hands together.

"Okay. So you have to make the setting for the picture. Shall we begin?" She strode over to Virgil and offered a hand. He accepted it and was hoisted to his feet.

"What does it mean by a setting for a picture?" He asked. She walked over to a picture and unhooked it, bringing it over for Virgil to see. It was a fuzzy picture of Static and Gear, flying off into the distance. 'Probably taken on a cell phone'. He'd guessed. She pointed to the city buildings and sky-line.

"This," she made circular motions of everything but the two heroes. "is the setting. If the camera is going to focus on Richie, you need a setting. A background."

Virgil took a step back and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I get it. But how do I make a good one when I don't know what he's wearing?"

Luckily, Daisy had an answer without giving away the outfit. "Well, I personally think you should go with some light colors and soft lighting." She winked at him. He took this opportunity to look about the room. The velvet chair had caught his eye, along with the see-through curtains.

'The pink mixing with the purple with be nice.' He stalked to the vanity mirror and lifted the chair, moving it in front of the balcony's doors, its back to the glass. He took a step back. The light from the window was being mostly hidden by the curtains, so he pushed them to the side. Only part of the sun's rays shown through; Another building in the city must've been blocking the majority of it. 'Hmm.. The curtains are pretty, but so is the light.' Daisy must have had the same thought, because she came up beside him and pointed.

"Why don't we try wrapping the curtains around the top of the chair?" She showed him what she meant, pulling the curtains loosely around it. "It helps mellow the deep purple and gives us both the light and pretty mixtures of light colors." She pointed outside, where the sky was light blue and few clouds were about.

Virgil took a few steps back. He liked that, but now the sun catches at a weird angle. Not much light was getting to the front of the chair. He snapped his fingers as an idea came to him. He turned the chair so it's left side was facing the glass. "There. Now the sun will show on Richie."

As if on cue, the closet door opened and Frieda stepped out halfway. "Okay, guys. Ready?" She opened the door completely, and Virgil's breath caught.

Richie was in a skimpy lady-bug costume, which was obviously too small for him. A black headband was placed snugly on top of his head with two small antennae attached to it and white puff-balls waving back and forth as he hesitantly stepped out of the closet.

'In more than one way, hopefully.' Virgil half-joked to himself, trying to ignore the warmth building further south.

Richie saw the other boy staring at him and quickly receded back into the shadows of the closet. "I can't do this! This is SO embarrassing!"

Frieda grabbed his forearm and yanked him out. She quickly slammed the door shut. "Just let us have a look, so we know we aren't missing anything. Then we can take the picture." Virgil inspected the worked Frieda did, eying Richie up and down.

His hair had seemed to be pushed to the side with a comb, looking less disheveled than usual. A necklace with a large sunflower charm dangled from his neck by a thick, green string.

The lady-bug wings that hung on his back were held by gray strings that roped around his shoulder, under his arm, to his shoulder blade. The wings were a tinted red, almost pink, with four dark spots on both, and could be seen through easily.

The last few months had been good to the once scrawny and weak blond, Virgil noted. All the super-hero-ing Richie did as Gear had toned his muscles, which the tiny dress did well to show every curve and bump that made the torso of the super-genius.

Virgil had not failed to notice how the black end of the dress was so short, as Richie had to tug it down and hold it.

The black on the base of the skirt, where it had been hemmed to the red cloth, was not see-through, much to Virgil's dismay. The frilly tip, however, was. He could barely see the pale skin that was (almost) covered on Richie's upper-thigh.

Virgil covered his mouth with his hand, as he swore he glimpsed skin under the skirt that he distinguished as NOT being Richie's leg.

'Oh. My. God. He doesn't.. He's not wearing anything underneath it!' He felt an ache in his lower regions that was begging for relief. Relief that Virgil only wanted to come from a certain lady-bug.

One of the parts that bespectacled the electric hero most were the stockings. They were, as with the rest of the ensemble, too short, and only came barely up to his mid-thigh. They held very tight to the muscular skin that was Richie's leg. The crimson color that made up the stockings, along with the black polka-dots and black border where they ended on his thigh, were barely translucent, slightly showing the pale skin color.

"Okay, so let's get this going!" Frieda and Daisy giggled. Virgil led them across the room to the 'setting' he and Daisy had created. Frieda oh'd and ah'd over it, saying it was beautiful with the city showing in the background. The dark-skinned teen hadn't noticed, his eyes too transfixed on the red-faced blond standing next to him.

"Virgil?"

His head snapped back to attention. "Huh?"

"Here's the camera." Frieda handed him a small, silver digital camera and she, along with Daisy, backed up to sit on the bed and watch.

Virgil sighed, convincing himself that it'd be better to jump Richie at the gas station later and not in front of the girls. 'A few hours. That's it. I can hold up that long.. Right?"

He mustered Richie to sit on the chair. Hesitantly, he sat down, shrinking in on himself. Virgil raised the camera to his eye and frowned, lowering it back down. He couldn't take the picture with Richie looking so uncomfortable. 'He needs to loosen up a bit.' He glanced at the girls who were quietly chatting. 'But he won't while they are here.'

He stalked over to the girls, who ceased their chit-chat. "Hey, can you guys leave for a few minutes? He's not gonna cooperate otherwise." At first, they protested, but after a little convincing, they reluctantly complied. Daisy and Frieda shuffled out of the room, and Virgil whirled around to face his target. After he heard the 'click' of the door shutting, he advanced.

Richie had been sulking and didn't notice how close Virgil was until he was hovering over him. "Virg, I really don't want to do this." He complained.

As though he hadn't heard, Virgil shoved a leg between the other's knees, forcing him to spread. He leaned down, resting his knee on the small part of the chair between Richie's legs, causing him to blush furiously. He pushed bare shoulders into the back of the chair, moving in as close as possible but not actually touching. After all, he didn't want to rip the small outfit.. As much as he wanted to. "Rich." Virgil cooed in his ear, the warm breath making him shudder. "Let me take a picture. A good one."

Richie didn't move, just watched. He raised his arms and wrapped them around Virgil's waist, pulling him closer. A small smile caressed the lips Virgil wanted to taste. "What's in it for me?"

The mocha-teen rested a hand on Richie's mid-thigh, at the end of the stockings that was driving Virgil crazy. "Well.. The faster this gets done, the faster we can go to the gas station." He smirked as Richie's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. But we'd have to get whipped-cream first, huh?" He retorted, returning the smile. That damned smile that he wanted. So. Bad.

'Screw it.' Virgil used his unoccupied hand to softly push Richie by the back of the neck, their lips meeting. Immediately, he swiped his tongue over Richie's lips, silently asking permission to access. Richie opened his mouth to accept. The kiss was wet, rough, and intense. Sadly, though, humans must breathe. Virgil reluctantly pulled away, breathing heavily, as the other was.

"Now, how about that picture?" He smiled as Richie quickly nodded. Excitedly, he grabbed the camera from the floor and stepped back. Richie sat slouched over to the left, resting one hand on his knee, the other's forearm on his lower thigh. He kept his legs spread, though, so Virgil moved to the side for a different angle.

"Ah. Perfect." He said to himself. The hand that rested on Richie's knee was in just the right spot, covering the area that was very noticeably aroused. Virgil lifted the camera to his eyes. "Ready?"

Sun rays appeared, illuminating the setting Virgil had set up, as well as adding more color to Richie's skin. He had to turn his eyes away, the sun's glare off his glasses too much to look at the camera for. Virgil didn't mind. He loved the shimmer in the other's eyes as he looked to the left. Just as quickly as it came, the sun rays disappeared. He was going to wait until they appeared.

"Rich, you look.. Amazing."

"Thanks."

"Ready?"

"Yup."

"For both?"

"Both?"

"The picture... and coming out of the closet tonight."

Richie grinned. "Of course I am."

"You're mine now, I hope you know."

"Vise-versa."

"You're my little lady-bug."

"Then you're my little lightning-bug."

"You're my best friend. My partner. My lover."

Richie stayed silent as the sun shown through, once again, illuminating everything. Virgil put his finger to the button, and smiled.

"You're my Richie-Bug."

-click-