tag, you're it again. r.tozier. act ll.

epilogue part three | raindrops!

TAG, YOU'RE IT AGAIN!

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"I LOVE YOU, DAD." Noah muttered, his vision blurry as he looked down at the man in the hospital bed. Riley sat across from him on the other side of the bed, tears streaming down her cheeks as she held her father's hand.

But before he could say anything else, his eyes shut, and everything turned black.

It felt... weird. The sounds that he once heard slowly died down, until the silence seemed so loud that it rung in his ears. It felt as if he were floating... but, somehow, it felt as if he had somewhere to go. It felt as if he somehow knew where to go.

-

He sucked in a breath as he was let through the gates of heaven, and, suddenly, he was hit with a peaceful feeling. He looked around, only seeing that he was in the most beautiful place he had ever seen.

It was so beautiful; he absolutely adored the sight. God truly was an amazing artist. Without saying anything, he looked around. It felt so peaceful-

"It took you long enough." A male's voice spoke from behind him.

That voice was all too familiar, and a smile grew on his face as he turned around, only to be met with his childhood friend.

"Stanley?"

"Yeah, it's me, bud." Stanley smiled his sweet, innocent smile, and engulfed him in a hug.

Stanley looked similar from how he looked as a kid. The same old innocent smile.

"Guys, he's here!" Stanley released from the hug and waved some people over.

"Oh my gosh, he's finally here!"

Richie's smile only grew as his eyes landed on Eddie. "Eds!"

"Sup, man!" Richie hugged the shorter man, so incredibly happy to see him.

"You're just gonna leave us out of it?"

Richie looked up to see Mike, Ben, Bill,  Sydney, and Beverly. "No way, guys!"

Richie smiled hard as he was surrounded by his friends. They were all wearing white; they looked angelic. He hadn't seen all of them after they all died. And that meant that he was dead, too...

"Oh, Richie, look who's here, too." Sydney smiled and put a hand on the taller man's shoulder, turning the man around.

All of the losers smiled as they watched Richie's smile disappear into complete awe.

Richie hadn't seen her beautiful smile in so many years that he thought he was going to lose his mind, but, finally, here she was. Standing there, was the woman of his dreams.

Her long brown hair flowed behind her shoulders, her bright blue eyes shined in the light. She wore a long, flowy white dress, with a flower crown in her hair. The innocent look reminded Richie of when he had seen her for the first time, as kids. She looked like a literal angel.

"Hey, Rich." Arianna spoke, a sweet grin on her face as she finally saw the man of her dreams.

Richie was so lost for words, he hadn't seen her in about thirty years. It felt like eternity.

Arianna stepped up to him, wrapping her arms around his torso as tight as she could, for she missed him so much. She buried her face in his shoulder, feeling her eyes starting to tear up.

Richie let out a sob, his eyebrows knitted as he looked down at the woman who hugged him tightly; he couldn't believe it. His arms immediately flung around her tightly, and he sobbed once more, rubbing the side of his face with hers. Oh, how he missed her. He finally had his girl, his Ari.

Arianna softly cried into his shoulder, trying to quiet her sobs and not letting go of him as he cried into her shoulder.

"I missed you, so, so much." Richie muttered through tears, running his hand through her soft hair.

Arianna let out a chuckle, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I missed you too, you dork."

"Ari, I'm so, so sorry for leaving you down there, I-"

"It's okay, Rich, I'm fine. I'm okay." Arianna spoke into his shoulder, her voice shaking as she cried, and Richie squeezed his eyes shut as he hugged her even tighter.

They released from the hug, and Richie cupped her face in his hands, smiling through tears as he saw her beautiful face again. Richie let out a chuckle, his eyes examining all of her facial features. "My gosh, gorgeous, you're so beautiful."

"You're not too bad, yourself." Arianna smiled, and she giggled as Richie started to plant kisses all over her face. Gosh, he had missed her so much, and she had missed him so much.

"How's our babies?" Arianna asked, putting one hand on Richie's cheek, admiring his face.

"They're amazing, gorgeous, trust me. One day, when you meet them, you'll see." Richie smiled and nodded, and seeing Arianna smile only made him smile harder. "Gosh, I love you so much." He spoke.

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Eddie joked, putting his hands on both of their shoulders.

"Richie, we want to show you some places and some people, and we have a lot to catch up on." Mike explained with the bright smile of his, and he started walking the opposite direction, being followed by Beverly, Stan and Ben.

"It's good to have you back, Richie." Bill spoke, patting Richie on the back and leading Sydney away, following the others as Sydney gave Richie a smile.

"Hey," Arianna grinned, pointing at Richie's face, "no glasses."

"What?" Richie put a hand on his face, and he realized he didn't have his usual pair of glasses on. He could finally see perfectly. "Oh," he chuckled, "yeah."

"You're finally not as blind as a bat anymore!" Eddie joked, following the others.

Richie chuckled and shook his head. He missed all of his friends and Arianna dearly. He was the last to pass out of all of the losers.

Arianna smiled and interlocked her fingers with Richie's, and Richie smiled, leading her to follow the others.

All of the losers walked through the sunflower field, and this was just the start of something great. After their hard lives, they finally had peace and each other.

And Richie finally had his Ari back.

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this was the final chapter ever of the tag, you're it! series.
thank you all for being on this incredible journey with me, i love you all.