Takes place immediately after "Fonzie Loves Pinkie." At the end of the episode, Fonzie has a last motorcycle ride with Pinkie, the girl he had been engaged to for a brief time. Afterwards, Pinkie's friends bring Richie out to Fonzie and they go their separate ways. The last thing you hear is Fonzie telling Richie not to dangle his feet and Richie saying that he likes to. Could be slash fluff or platonic fluff. Definitely fluff. Oh, and btw Chuck is the Cunningham's oldest kid. I believe he last appeared in season 2. They don't seem to mention him after that.

Big Brother

"I like to dangle my feet," Richie protested over the motor of Fonzie's bike.

"Kids' stuff!" Fonzie answered scornfully. "You lose more shoes that way. And will you get a grip? I'm afraid I'm gonna lose you. You're hangin' on like a junior high girl at her first dance."

"I am not!" But Richie tightened his grip. He wanted to keep the banter going to distract Fonzie from his having just said goodbye to the amazing girl he had been planning to marry. You never knew if he was going to plow ahead like nothing had happened, or hide and pout for a week (contrary to the declaration he had once made that "The Fonz does not pout.")

"Pick up your feet, or I will turn this bike around."

"You'd take us back to the middle of nowhere, Fonz? That doesn't make sense."

"I'd leave you back in the middle of nowhere. Now that makes perfect sense."

Richie could tell from the tone that Fonzie was grinning. Things seemed okay, but he knew they could change at a moment's notice. He found places to rest his feet without accidentally touching his sneakers to Fonzie's boots—the Fonz was funny about things like that. You had to cling to his waist to ride behind him, but heaven forbid you bumped his foot.

"That's better. Better." Fonzie often repeated a word for emphasis. Now he revved the motor and shifted up. Soon they got back to paved roads and the ride got smoother.

Richie was afraid to look over Fonzie's shoulder to see how fast they were going, but whatever the speed, he was sure his mother wouldn't approve. They weren't wearing helmets, after all. He wanted to advise Fonzie not to go so fast, but he didn't want to distract the driver and cause a wreck (or worse, get called a chicken). Instead, he held on even tighter.

Holding on tighter seemed to be the signal for Fonzie to shift up again. He handled the throttle so perfectly that the gear shifts were smoother than those most of Richie's friends made in their cars.

Just stay calm—Fonzie knows what he's doing, Richie told himself. He closed his eyes against the rushing wind. Tears were being whipped out of his eyes and into his hair along his temples. He wished he had goggles and prayed he didn't get a bug in his eye. He sheltered his face behind Fonzie's neck.

Finally, the wind died down a little and Richie could open his eyes again. He peeked up at the speedometer and blinked at it, trying to clear his vision. Forty miles an hour? If we're going forty now, what were we doing before? I don't want to know... Tired from the tense ride, Richie relaxed and let his chin droop onto Fonzie's shoulder, watching the speedometer drop down to thirty as they approached town.

"Are you limp with relief, or you getting ready to blow in my ear?" Fonzie queried. His tone sounded a little ridiculing, but not downright hostile. He was teasing.

Richie decided to risk teasing back. "Oh, well, with the breeze going by, you'll never know the difference."

Fonzie chuckled and then said, "All right, sit up" in his no-nonsense tone.

Richie obediently straightened. He glanced around to see if anyone was staring at them. There weren't many people around, and no one seemed to be staring. That was a little disappointing, because when Fonzie actually gave a guy a ride, that was a rare event and worth bragging about. But he felt more relieved. It was kind of nice to think he wouldn't have to give a blow-by-blow to Ralph and Potsie later on. If Fonzie gave him a ride, it wasn't national news. It made sense. They lived at the same address. Why shouldn't Fonzie give him a ride now and then?

"You want me to let you off anywhere?" Fonzie asked, snapping Richie out of his thoughts.

"No, I figured we should go right home. Mom will have dinner waiting."

"Okay; I'll take you to the house, then."

"You come too—I'm sure she's expecting you."

"Nah, I think I'll just fix a little something in my pad. I don't wanna be around a lot of people right now."

Richie pressed his lips together, trying to decide how to cajole his friend without being too pushy. "She'll be awfully disappointed, Fonz. You know how mom is when she knows someone's had a disappointment."

"Yeah. She's gotta talk about it an' fuss over you an' ask a lot of personal questions. Don't get me wrong, Cunningham. Your mom's a doll. But sometimes..."

"I think she said she was going to make pot roast."

"So, what."

"And mashed potatoes."

"Oh, yeah?"

"And gravy."

Fonzie was silent a few moments. They were getting close to the house. As he slowed down to approach the driveway, he asked carelessly, "Will there be some of those sweet baby carrots?"

"I'm sure there will. Mom always makes baby carrots to go with her pot roast."

Fonzie cut the motor and they coasted to a stop beside the garage. "Well..." he said, tilting his head to one side. "I guess I could come in. Just... you know, so I don't hurt her feelings."

"Thanks, Fonz. You know she really thinks of you as one of the family. We all do."

"Yeah, sure. I know."

"Really, though. I think when Chuck went to college, Mom worried about me not having an older brother around anymore... but then you moved in, and she doesn't seem to worry so much."

"Yeah? How come?"

"Well... I think she feels like you're standing in. Kinda keeping Chuck's place warm for him, you know?" Richie said tentatively, trying to leave room to backpedal.

"So... I'm Chuck's benchwarmer?"

"No, no..."

"Cause when he comes back... is he gonna want the garage?"

"No, it's not like that. I mean, he'll always be my older brother, but now you'll always be part of the family, too. And if Chuck does move back here after college, he'll just have to get a different place, that's all."

"But he's family. I mean, real family. Actual blood family."

"Sure, but you live here now. He left, and that's that. That's what happens when you get up and go someplace—if someone takes your spot while you're gone, tough luck."

Fonzie was keeping very still, impossible for Richie to read from behind.

"But you're still family, no matter how long you're away," Richie continued. "And it's like that with you now, too. If you moved and came back to visit, you'd still be family."

"And, uh... your folks feel this way, too?"

"Sure, they do. Mom would be heartbroken if you didn't come at holidays."

"Well... that's nice." He was still trying to sound casual, but Richie detected something in the hurried statement that made him think the Fonz was getting a bit "misty." Suddenly, Fonzie looked down and said sharply, "Cunningham, why are you still holding onto me?"

Richie realized he still had his arms around Fonzie's waist. Hurriedly, he pulled back. "Oh, uh... ha ha..." he laughed nervously. "Guess I sort of froze that way. Sorry about that."

"My driving is not that scary." The teasing tone was back.

"No, no... I guess I'm just not used to going so fast. It was fine."

"Fine?"

"Great. Great, Fonz."

Fonzie hopped off the bike with a self-satisfied, "That's right. Sorry I snapped."

"Oh, that's okay."

"I know. But it's not something a big brother should do." He faltered. "...Right?"

"Right," Richie agreed. He swung his leg over the bike, put down the kickstand and joined Fonzie to walk toward the house. "Unless your little sister is spying on you making out with a girl."

"I'll remember that."

"You might need to. Joanie's definitely accepted you into this family, so look out!"

As they neared the front door, Richie was surprised to feel an arm around his shoulders. It didn't last very long, but it was so rare for Fonzie to make a gesture like that when he wasn't lecturing... or threatening.

Richie opened the door and led the way inside. "Mom," he called, "we're home."

I wrote this as a one-shot, but if there's enough interest I might do more. Hope you liked your dose of sappy fluff.