A/N: soooooooooo… aheh.. remember how I said I would have a series of Lee Sang-woo?? (Oh, we are so back baby 😈🙏) it’s here!! Part two is finally here!! I’m really glad I decided to finish this, because I miss the feeling I used to have when writing squid game fics, and I think upon finishing this, it sort of brought me back to my squid game phase?? Maybe??? Who knows!! Enjoy! :] (here’s part 1 if you haven’t read it yet)
Word count: 1,812
Warning: | tickling |
It was a very early Saturday. The morning shone through the curtained windows, casting a beautiful sunlight in the apartment bedroom. It created this homey atmosphere as Sang-woo stirred awake, instantly feeling the pain from last night. While still trying to get out of his sleepy daze, he began to sit up, and instantly felt the last night's contents shift in his stomach in a nauseating hunger. Ignoring the feeling, he looked around to see that he was in a bedroom. More so, Gi-hun’s bedroom.
Although this was a common occurrence since it has happened before, he was bewildered with the thought of how he got there. He tiredly walked out of the bedroom to find his friend laying on the couch. Knowing Gi-hun for all those years, he smirked at the mere thought that Gi-hun would go out of his way to give up his bed for a friend when drunk. “Same old Gi-hun,” he thought to himself.
“How much did I drink last night?” Sang-woo said. The hangover and tiredness overall was clearly evident. This made Gi-hun turn his head as he was facing away from the eye's view of the apartment living room.
“You drank nine beers. You had a hell of a crash, haha!” Gi-hun spoke. Releasing any unease from the half asleep man, who was confused as to how he ended up in his best friend’s apartment in the first place.
Sang-woo looked around before saying something in a low, grumbling voice. “I..I drank nine? Why didn’t you stop me?” He asked so suddenly, looking at him the best he could while his vision was still blurry from his glasses still being off after walking out of bed. He decided to sit on an open area of the couch, instantly seeing Gi-hun sit up from his earlier daze.
“Trust me, I tried! I just decided to carry you here since it was closest to the bar we went to. Don’t worry, you can leave when you want, it’s not going to bother me any.” He waved it off with a kind smile. Gi-hun and his overly nice personality.. he decided to stay there for a bit, trying to collect all of his thoughts.
Maybe he thought of too many thoughts from that night.
“…Did I really beg to be in your bed?!” He said slowly. Bits and pieces of last night appeared in a fog in his mind. After the sudden question, he felt the flow of his blood from his brain pinch a nerve from build up. Instantly, he went to grab the side of his head to nurture the feeling.
Gi-hun laughed before getting up to help attend to his head by going to the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water and ibuprofen. He came back, setting the contents on the coffee table for Sang-woo to take.
“Here. Your head is probably hurting like hell.” He sat back down. He stared at his friend with intent.
Sang-woo stared at it before turning his head to give Gi-hun an appreciative smile. “Thanks, Gi-hun.” He quickly took the ibuprofen and water, gulping it down before carefully setting the water back down onto the coffee table.
That’s when Gi-hun decided to answer his question from earlier. “Yeah, you were heavily convinced with yourself that you would get me to let you sleep in my bedroom rather than out here… seemed like it worked, didn’t it?” The smile never left his face as he was amused with the whole conversation.
Sang-woo only stared at him in mere hesitance. He questioned how he convinced his friend in such a way that he was actually willing to sleep in his own living room and not in the comfort of his own bed.
He turned his head to look at Gi-hun. Suddenly noticing the onigiri that he just magically had in his hand-probably got it with the water and ibuprofen-he wanted to ask an important detail about what happened.
“How did I convince you to let me sleep in your room?”
In an instant, Gi-hun choked on his food. He could’ve sworn that he at least knew that part of the forced exchange for his bed that very night. He guessed not, since sang-woo asked so casually. “Uhm.. y-you had your ways.” Is all he said before successfully swallowing what left he had in his mouth.
Sang-woo was confused. He wanted a straight answer. He wanted to know what he did while in his drunk state. He started to worry if he might’ve been a bit.. forward with feelings that caused Gi-hun to be uncomfortable, or maybe did something as drastic as hurting him.. he panicked.
“I-I’m sorry if I did anything to make you hurt or uncomfortable last night.. I swear I would have never done such a thing if I wasn’t influenced by a beer-“
“No! It was nothing like that, don’t worry Sang-woo ahh.. you just tickled me was all.” He interrupted. Kind of holding his head down as if he said something wrong. What childish behavior, Sang-woo thought instantly. The worried thought whisking away in his mind as he smiled at what he finally heard.
“I just tickled you? Really?” He cocked a smile while moving his position to rest on his knees with his elbows- hands locked in front of him.
Gi-hun shot his head up to look at him now. “Oh don’t be cocky! You know it’s embarrassing for me.” Crossing his arms, he sat there like a pouting baby. Then an idea popped into his mind.
“How would you like it if you were tickled to pieces, huh?” Gi-hun then poked the side of Sang-woo’s waist. Quickly, Sang-woo defended himself after the fact that he had been poked, catching the hand mid retracting and gave Gi-hun a funny look.
“Don’t!” He said, still sluggish from his rest. And his leftover hangover, too. He was starting to regret leaving his glasses in the other room by now.
Gi-hun smirked. “Don’t? But that wouldn’t be fair, now would it?” He inched closer, lifting himself off the couch to inch toward Sang-woo using the weight of his legs. Sang-woo flinched on instinct.
“Fair?? What wouldn’t be fair is the fact that you’re trying to get your hands on me while I’m still hungover.. seems to me that you want me to throw up sooner than I thought!” What a silly excuse, he knew that. He couldn’t tell if it was because he was still fighting off sleep in his eyes, or if it’s the fact that one of those nine beers he drank last night is the cause of his silly behavior once more.
The other just laughed at his rebuttal. He found it amusing.
“Hmm.? I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t want you to throw up.” Gi-hun said, inching away for just a second.
This confused the other. “…Wait, really?” He asked carefully. He scanned for any weird body language, but he couldn’t tell with how tired his eyelids came to be.
Gi-hun gave it a moment before answering him. “… Well the throw up, yes. Tickling you however? Haha-THAT’S fair.” he then darted his free hand straight to his side, causing him to flinch with a squeak.
With uncoordinated instincts, Sang-woo lazily grabbed at his friend's wrists, trying to pull them away with weak effort.
“Dohohohon’t be-hehe ahahaahan ahahasshohole!” He giggled out. He shut his eyes as he shook his head back and forth.
“Still as sassy as ever! And quite giggly too, did you know that?” He teased as he stayed at the spot for a bit.
It was no brainer that Sang-woo would feel more giddy when first waking up. Especially since he’s hungover. It was silly for Gi-hun to see. The first time he saw his friend this uncoordinated was overly amusing and adorable to experience. It grew their bond more since it opened a new vulnerability that sang-woo hated to admit. He does like to keep his ego strong after all.
“Ihihi ahahaha- I’m nohot gihihiggly!” Retaliation at best with this one. Of course, Gi-hun knew this, and he shook his head knowingly of the fact that he’ll be quite a stubborn giggle bug.
“Oh, you’re not giggly? I beg to differ, Sang-woo. Maybe I’ll have to convince you that you are!” He then pulled his friend into a comforting hug, stomachs facing each other, and then gently traced his spine carefully, sending the captured man on a giggle train with his own startled laughter.
“NOHOohohoho! Gihihihi-huhuhun! Not - ahah THERE! Nohot thehehere!” He buried his face into his friends shoulder as he pounded his fist into Gi-hun’s back weakly.
“I’hihm not stopping until you’re convinced that yohou’re in-fact a giggle bug?” Gi-hun asked teasingly.
All he could do is giggle his heart out by the tingly sensations that he was feeling all over his spine and back at that moment.
“Ohohohokay! OKAY! YES! Yehahaha- yehehehes!! FIHINE!” Desperation setting in, he hoped that maybe, this will be enough for his good friend to finally stop his onslaught.
Maybe? “Hmm, I don’t know.. I kind of like the sounds of you giggling like there is no tomorrow. It’s cute.” Is all he said before digging in with more force, causing Sang-woo to basically short circuit through out his entire body.
“YOHOHohohou bihihihitch!!! Ihihihi- ehehehahahah ihihit’s TOHOHO MUHUHUHUCH!” He pleaded. He tried pushing away, but Gi-hun was just a tad bit stronger in the moment.
And his friend was just laughing with him like they were retelling the shenanigans their younger selves used to do. Gi-hun was having way too much fun at this point.
But Sang-woo could tell that he was getting tired, and needed a break soon. “Pleheheahaha- gihihi-huhuhun! Ehahahah ehehnohohough!” He breathlessly begged.
And finally, his best friend complied, and stopped. Giving him the long earned break he so desperately needed.
“There, Nohoho more for Mr. Giggles? Yeah?” He said, patting his back, which even though it didn’t tickle, he still didn’t miss the flinch he felt Sang-woo do upon doing the action.
“Thahahank yohou…” he lay limp on his best friend for a moment, and thankfully his friend allowed him to do so. Setting in the comfortable atmosphere once more. It was almost like nostalgia. Sang-woo would always use Gi-hun as a makeshift pillow when they were kids whenever he had a bad day. Of course, being the quiet kid, he never explained why he did it, and Gi-hun never asked why, it just became a regular occurrence after a while, but suddenly stopped after going their separate ways.
They both missed this. Painfully missed the soft personality from both parties when days end up like this one. Their past reminds them how long time has really gone, and their friendship, even though never fading, but abruptly became more distant as ever.
They will never trade their friendship for the world.
I REMEMBER THE TIMES I WAS COUNTING DAYS TILL THE SEQUEL RELEASE 😭😭💔💔
Oooooomg, Saturn, I was missing SO BAD, as I already said it (billion times I guess) and this another masterpiece of yours was worth the wait FOR REAL!! This is the perfect continuation of the perfect story, HOW MUCH I LOVE THESE BOYS AND YOUR STYLE AHH
I’ll eat EVERY single squid game fic from you till the rest of my days 🙏🙏
I just finished my exams so I'm freee!! And what better way to celebrate than with a 457 fic that absolutely nobody asked for?!
This one is rather spicy (aka. sexy vibes), so be warned.
Summary: Gi-Hun and In-Ho get up to shennanigans
Warning: This is a TICKLE FIC
After the incident at the 2021 games, the guards had been more strict about ensuring that the bathrooms were properly gender divided. That had no effect on Gi-Hun and "Young-Il" of course.
"Oh, yes", Gi-Hun gently moaned as the undercover Frontman nuzzled into his ear. In-Ho had joined the games to learn more about Gi-Hun - to test him if you will. He wanted to test his resolve, how far he would go to save others. Testing him in this way was a new development - a fun one nevertheless.
"Shh", In-Ho purred, cupping his chin and staring straight into his eyes, "The guards will hear us".
That wasn't a problem of course. In-Ho had let the guards know what was going on. He was surprised that, even after being so traumatized, Gi-Hun was still so...excitable. Probably some kind of coping mechanism. Really shows that nobody can completely escape their primal instincts.
In-Ho got a bit more daring, letting his hand explore Gi-Hun's chest from under his shirt, roughly grazing at his side.
He did not except the squeal that Gi-Hun let out, "Not there!"
The Frontman paused for a second, examining his crush's flushed face. He hadn't remembered player 456 being injured there. He noticed everything about that man.
"Not where?", In-Ho questioned, squeezing the spot more intentionally this time.
Gi-Hun doubled over, his body collapsing on top of his attacker, giggling gently into the Frontman's shoulder.
It was....adorable, to say the least. But the oblivious Frontman was still confused.
"Stop doing that!", Gi-Hun hissed, "As you said earlier, the guards will hear us!"
But In-Ho was sucked in now. Gi-Hun's reactions were addictive.
"Oh, don't you worry about that", In-Ho tuttered. And before Gi-Hun could make a refute about the man's hypocricy, he started repeatedly squeezing that spot.
The player instantly dissolved into a loud and uncontrollable bout of high pitched giggles. The laughter sounded forced and pained. Almost like the way his little brother used to laugh when he would tickle him to tears. Wait, could it be....
"Are you ticklish, player 456?"
In-Ho stopped squeezing, a blank, menacing expression on his face as he stated into the man's eyes, demanding an answer.
The Frontman was delighted at the way Gi-Hun squirmed uncomfortably, trying to avoid his gaze, flustered beyond anything. "A-a little?"
In-Ho snickered, breaking the stoic act, "A little?"
He gently fluttered his fingers against that bad spot, and Gi-Hun shrieked. As the touches were lighter this time, Gi-Hun was able to grab his assailant's wrists and pry them away.
At first Gi-Hun looked furious, almost like he was going to attack In-Ho. How dare the man be so silly under such circumstances? But instead, Gi-Hun seemed to have channeled his frustration into nibbling In-Ho's ear, making him shudder.
The Next Day
This time In-Ho had actually told the guards to keep the other players away from the bathroom by whatever means necessary. In-Ho and Gi-Hun were sucking each other's faces, intermingling their tongues. Both of their hearts exploded in bliss and primal passion. In a burst of energy, Gi-Hun bit into the side of In-Ho's neck. That made the man scream.
Delighted, Gi-Hun started teasing that spot with his tongue and some gentle sucking. But, to his dismay, Young-Il wasn't making any noise at all. He took a glance at the man's expression. He was....biting his lip, as if holding back his noises. This was odd.
"Getting shy?", Gi-Hun teased, blowing a gentle raspberry into the other's neck.
That was when In-Ho cracked.
He let out an outpouring of chuckles, squeezing his chin to his shoulders. The chuckles were deep and brooding...not exactly what Gi-Hun had excepted, but enticing nevertheless.
It clicked in an instant, "Oh, your neck is extra sensitive right?"
In-Ho didn't know how to respond. This was dangerous. He was meant to be the dominant one. Gi-Hun should have been at his mercy. Not the other way around.
What to do? If he denied it, he knew what he was in for. If he admitted it....well, he also knew how that would end. The only option was....
"Aghhh!"
It was Gi-Hun screaming this time, as In-Ho had dug into his lower ribs.
The man glared at him, "You mother-h-heeeey!"
In-Ho had started very purposefully tickling him. Scraping, poking, squishing, tracing. He didn't just stay in that spot, but went up and down Gi-Hun's sides, his fingers on a mission for every sensitive area, every kryptonite.
"Nohohoho! Fuhuhuuck ohohohoff!"
"Your sides are extra sensitive, right?", In-Ho mused, reflecting Gi-Hun's tease from earlier.
"Ahhh! Not fahahair! EEEEE!"
That final sound had came when In-Ho had experimentally dipped his finger into Gi-Hun's bellybutton.
"Ooo, that's new", In-Ho noted, swirling his finger around the poor player's navel.
If Gi-Hun wasn't gone before, he was gone now.
"NAHAHAHA! PFTTTT!"
In-Ho chuckled sincerely, "Did you just 'pffft'?"
Gi-Hun needed a way out. This was getting ridiculous. How dare Young-Il treat him this way! He leaned forward a bit, trying to control his body as much as he could while in ticklish agony, and nibbled at In-Ho's neck.
That made the tickling stop. In-Ho screeched, leaning back, his head hitting the stall door. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Gi-Hun pounced, kissing and nuzzling and sucking and biting at every part of the man's neck he could reach.
The sound that In-Ho let out was laughter mixed with moans.
"Nahahaha! Shihihibal!"
Gi-Hun just smirked, noticing that player 001's laughter was getting closer and closer into giggle territory.
"You asked for it", he said into the man's neck, "You-ahhh!"
In-Ho was fighting back, scribbling at Gi-Hun's ribs.
Now the bathroom stall was rattling, but not for the reasons your average bystander would thing.
It was a contest, In-Ho and Gi-Hun shoving each other back and fourth, trying to gain the upper hand, lips and fingers and necks and sides in a frenzy, desperate laughter and moans pouring freely.
Two Days Later
Gi-Hun couldn't speak. Seeing the dazzling eyes of Young-Il under that mask was like seeing a fish in the sky.
His mind had come to associate that brooding face with pleasure, so rather than a feeling of betrayal, a wave of heat rushed through him against his will.
"Surprised?", the Frontman asked, scoffing in clear amusement, "For somebody so determined, you sure are gullible-"
"You!", Gi-Hun threw himself onto In-Ho, tacking him down. His eyes blazed with fury. Their bodies were pressed against each other, Gi-Hun's on top of In-Ho's. The situation was...familiar.
Gi-Hun could feel Young-Il's muscles through his shirt. He could take the knife the man just gave him and slash them. He reached back for the weapon, his hand trembling.
"Oh, you want to stab me?", In-Ho asked, knowing exactly what was going on. Gi-Hun froze. "I excepted more of you, Mr. Seong".
There was silence for a few seconds. Than, out of absolute nowhere, In-Ho started digging his fingers deep into the ribs of the man above him, as if in a spontaneous attempt to escape a life-threatening situation.
And Gi-Hun screamed. It was a scream of horror, of fury and, of course, of ticklishness. A lot of ticklishness.
"NOHOHOHOHO!".
The cry was more desperate than ever. The volume wasn't due to the sensation alone, but due to the feeling of it all. Of being overpowered by the Frotnman in such a humiliating way.
In-Ho smirked, flipping their positions while Gi-Hun was disarmed, "Heh, I knew that this information about your sensitive spot would come in handy-"
The Frontman started unbuttoning Gi-Hun's shirt with one hand and squishing his sides with the other, hoping to get contact with bare skin.
And oh, as soon as In-Ho's fingers scraped the bare flesh of Gi-Hun's armpit, the sensation became so much worse.
"AHHHHH!"
In-Ho felt his fingers crushed beneath Gi-Hun's arms, which were clenched desperately to his sides.
"Wow, your very strong for a man so skinny", In-Ho tutted, sneaking his other hand into Gi-Hun's bellybutton.
"SHIBAL!"
"Shh, language", In-Ho giggled, attacking player 456's armpit with one hand and navel with the other. The Frontman was acting like a delighted schoolboy.
Gi-Hun would have been very endeared, if he'd have had the ability to concentrate.
Nevertheless, Gi-Hun was still very tense. Very on edge. Very excited. He may have been enjoying this, just slightly. Just like how he'd enjoyed all those times in the men's bathrooms. Of course! That was why the guards never stopped them...
In-Ho stopped for a second, just admiring his handiwork. Gi-Hun, sweaty and frail, face flushed, panting desperately.
"Admit it Gi-Hun", In-Ho purred, stroking the man's hairline, "Your obsessed with me"
A/N: Omg… I was working on this FOR AGES and finally… FINALLY!!! 🎉🥳 (I have an excuse actually! I don’t know exactly but seems like it’s the longest fic I’ve ever written)
Lately I’ve been thinking about tickle massage trope (again) too much and I also was thinking about my very first fic too much, so I was kinda regretting about I spell my main obsessive idea at that times when I didn’t like my own writing at all but… This only a trope which I could use in any way I want too, so yes, I’ve done just ONE MORE fic where Gi-Hun has some issues and In-Ho has his own vision of the solution 👀
This is a problem with Gi-Hun’s nightmares this time and also in the second part of this fic my boys are real couple (you’ve been warned in case you don’t like it) but it’s a PURE FLUFF and absolutely SFW, so…
Anyway, I hope you’ll excuse me this self-repeating of the concept (me personally just finding this kinda cute taking back to the roots! You know, “Best therapy”, “Charge for treatment”, “Sleeping Pills”… Well, ✨medicine✨!) and you’ll enjoy! Please, let me know if you will! 😌
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If someone had told Seong Gi-Hun earlier that nightmares would return to him in adulthood, he probably wouldn't have believed it. Despite huge debts, heavy divorce and gambling addiction, Gi-Hun was always too carefree and in love with life for this. Unfortunately, games on a strange island where he got in 2020 and everything he experienced during them and after traumatised him like nothing and never before.
The next three years actually were a living nightmare. And nightmares haunted former winner every night. Sometimes he couldn't remember why he woke up in a cold sweat, sometimes he remembered too well. Over time, Gi-Hun became afraid to fall asleep and tried to last as long as possible due to coffee, but even when he was awake, images from nightmares continued to soak in his mind. After a few months, Gi-Hun did not care anymore. He didn't stop seeing nightmares, he didn't even stop crying sometimes in his sleep, but he didn't feel fear anymore. To be fair Gi-Hun has never experienced almost anything else at all and almost all the time.
The decision to return to the second games was a very frequent plot of his dreams, so that's exactly how player 456 felt when he realised it, waking up at the island again - absolutely delusional.
Meeting the closest friend on the island, whom Gi-Hun had been diligently avoiding all these three years, was at the same time the only thing that made his heart tremble joyfully for a second and another nightmare plot. Also.
To meet there also a new person who aroused genuine interest in him and some kind of attraction was... unexpected.
Now, among countless nightmares, Gi-Hun saw something else. To be precise, someone else... Although it was so hard to believe that Gi-Hun quickly attributed the appearance of his new acquaintance in his dreams in a romantic role to the fact that he just finally went crazy. It still scared him, but there were a lot of more frightening things at the games. And his head was busy with something completely different. So dealing with this strangeness is the last thing player 456 was going to do.
But one evening something too unexpected happened...
There were only a few minutes left before the lights were turned off, but most of the players have already took their beds, some have even already slept and dreamed, but not Gi-Hun. Once again here, he began to be afraid of his dreams again, as it was before.
To all those terrible deaths of loved ones, which he is already used to seeing almost every night, a new character has been added - player 001.
Gi-Hun buried his head in his knees and groaned softly and pitifully. Apparently, not as quiet as he expected, because the bed under him bent more strongly, and someone else's hand gently but confidently lay on his shoulder.
“Can't you sleep?”
Gi-Hun shuddered when he heard a painfully familiar voice and only now raised his head to meet the attentive gaze of brown eyes. Even too attentive...
“What about you?”
“But I asked the question first!”
Gi-Hun was silent for a while, continuing to selflessly look straight into Yong-Il’s eyes. He didn't give up either, so Gi-Hun finally snorted tiredly and looked at the corner of the blanket, which immediately began to fiddle with his long fingers.
“It's all right, Yong-Il, don’t mind it!”
“Seriously? But why are you sitting here with such an unhappy tired look instead of resting and gaining strength before tomorrow?”
Gi-Hun exhaustedly looked Yong-Il in the face again, noting with confusion that on the edge of consciousness, like 25th frames, flashed the image from the one of his dreams...
Gi-Hun blinked absently, looking away and gave up eventually.
“I can't sleep. I haven't been able to for three years, and it's getting worse here. Go to sleep, don't worry about me, you'd better get enough rest. Unless you came to offer me a horse dose of sleeping pills”
“I haven’t any sleeping pills, of course," Yong-Il smiled with the corner of his mouth, "But there is actually one method. Would you let me to give you a massage, Seong Gi-Hun? Your body will relax if the mind can't do it and you fall asleep anyway!"
Apparently, Gi-Hun dozed off and fell into one of his new nightmares after all. Well, of course. Now Yong-Il will kiss him, the light will go out and all the players will magically evaporate. And then the pink soldiers will burst in and the whole bed will be coloured with the blood of Yong-Il, and he, Gi-Hun, will have to watch instead of being mercifully killed...
Gi-Hun imperceptibly pinched his own hand and suddenly grimaced with an unpleasant feeling... Weird. Well, is he really not sleeping?
“Are you serious?” Gi-Hun asked incredulously.
“Sure”, Yong-Il shrugged his shoulders, "It's not a big deal for me, so can I try to help you?”
“I appreciate your care, but I don't think it will help me, for real", Gi-Hun smiled back, but his smile seemed sad. Some kind of nonsense, so it started to seem that he's really asleep, it's just that nightmares have become more realistic.
“Maybe it won't help! But you don't lose anything if you let me at least try, right?”, In-Ho smiled either, obviously not ready to give up that easy.
“Uhm… Okay so…”
It turned out to be really unexpectedly pleasant... The fingers of the player 001 somehow miraculously found all the nodes and the necessary points, almost without bringing pain.
Gi-Hun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, having time to think that even if he couldn't sleep, at least he would really be able to physically relax so much that at least the next few hours would pass a little better than before. So far…
As long as In-Ho’s fingers pinched Gi-Hun’s lower back’s sides very gently…
“Quite ticklish, right?”, In-Ho asked in such a tone that a wide satisfied smile in his voice could be heard TOO WELL. Gi-Hun blushed thickly in a matter of seconds and buried his face deeper in the pillow, apparently hoping to drown in it. The way he shuddered and squealed from this harmless movement couldn’t have gone unnoticed, but Gi-Hun still hoped for it until this terribly tactless question in his opinion broke this hope to pieces.
"I...", the player 456 started, but treacherous fingers interrupted him, now quickly pinching several times in a row and now quite on the sides, "OUCH! I don't knoOHOHAHAHA... No one has tickled me for a long tiAHAHHAAME!!!", Gi-Hun broke down, now writhing completely frankly, too shocked by the way his fingers began to run on the sides up and down, it seems to no longer try to disguise the frank tickle with a massage... No way this all was happening for real...
It is not entirely clear what Gi-Hun was counting on, if saying that, he greatly exaggerated. Three years can hardly really be called “a long time” to start doubting whether you stopped being ticklish, and exactly three years ago Gi-Hun, as Jung-Bae liked to say, was the most ticklish man in the world: one poke to his ribs of fast tummy scratch or knee squeeze and Gi-Hun was COMPLETELY disarmed.
Tickling in general was a big and significant part of communication with people for Gi-Hun’s past silly and playful version of himself. But firstly, these three years seemed like an eternity to him, and secondly, too much had changed in him, and he could not be sure that physical sensitivity had not left him along with emotional sensitivity. Well... Gi-Hun didn't even imagine HOW wrong he was...
"How so? Poor youuuu... Well, it seems like you're still ticklish!", player 001 didn’t settle down, incredibly pleased with this discovery.
Gi-Hun turned over to grab Yong-Il by the hands, but 001 was both faster and stronger than him, so less than ten seconds later Gi-Hun bitterly regretted this decision, because now his own hands were pressed above his head, and all the most sensitive places were open for Yong-Il's second free hand. It was the most shameful defeat in his life...
Fingers mercilessly digged into the ribs under the T-shirt.
“PLEEHEHEASE PLEASE DOHOHOHOON'T”
“Oh, THAT’S how we're ticklish, right?”
“NOHOHO HAHAHAHAH”
"Breathe deeply, Gi-Hun! You'll have to be patient!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAA”
It seemed that it simply couldn't be worse for Gi-Hun when another familiar voice sounded just a couple of steps away from him.
“Well well well, who's screaming here?” Jung-Bae cooed and although Gi-Hun couldn't see his insidious smile now, he heard it too clearly. Again.. Just not that...
"HAHAHAHHSHSH JUNG-BAEEEEEHEHE, HE TICKLES ME!", Gi-Hun cried out, mentally pleading Jung-Bae to help but don’t do anything stupid.
"Does Yong-Il tickle you? That’s great, isn't it? That's what you like so much! You must have missed that feeling so bad! I should have guessed earlier!”
"I haAHAHAHAH… I HATE YOU!!! AAAHAHAH"
Jung-Bae raised an eyebrow in pretended amazement and gased theatrically, pressing his hand to his heart, as if Gi-Hun's words had just hurt him right there.
“How rude you are! Do you know what?”
Gi-Hun would have turned pale with fear if he hadn't fought now in a tickling hysteria with a red face.
"Yong-Il! If you squeeze his knees, he will cry and whine!"
"REEEEALLY?", Yong-Il glowed, as if he had just learned the best news of his life. Gi-Hun was ready to cry just out of anger at Jung-Bae, "Seong Gi-hun, is that true? You're so brave, strong, and will you CRY if I touch your knees?"
"NOOOOHOHOHOHOOOO"
"No?? Let's check this out?”
And only couple of minutes later when Gi-Hun cried for real and Yong-Il took pity on him and let him go, and then persuaded him to close his eyes, restore his breath and it seemed that Yong-Il even stroked Gi-Hun’s head, gently going through his short hair until his victim fell asleep. Player 456 did not see nightmares for the first time in many years.
———————————
And the next night was the night of the revolt and Gi-Hun didn’t sleep at all. Neither on that terrible, perhaps the worst night of his life, nor a few more nights after.
Everything changed the day when the Frontman revealed his face to former winner.
The rehabilitation process was very long and it took a long time before their life began to resemble the life of an ordinary happy couple. Almost completely, apart from nightmares, which became even worse.
Neither relaxing foam baths, nor scented candles and sticks in the bedroom, nor even massages helped. All these methods were good, but they didn't work at all, which was depressing. But the last one on the list was even more surprising - massage has already helped once, despite the fact that the atmosphere at the games was endlessly scarier and more tense. But a simple massage helped even then, in one of the most terrible places on the planet, on a hard bed, among desperate, blood-stained friends and enemies, people, many of whom were now living their last night. And the players 001 and 456 were strangers to each other back then. But it still helped, and now - in no way.
In-Ho was upset and disappointed every time. Gi-Hun was killed by the way he tries for him and nothing comes out. That is, of course, Gi-Hun almost purred when In-Ho washed his head while Gi-Hun melted in the foam bath. He always exhaled disappointedly when his bf’s strong fingers squeezed his already completely relaxed shoulders for the last time after a long thorough massage. And this all relaxed Gi-Hun for real and it’s even flattered him - no one had ever cared about him so much and no one ever tried to do him so well... So Gi-Hun always fell asleep easily and quickly, but by the middle of the night the nightmares still came back. A couple of times Gi-Hun even tried to lie, but it was useless, because in his sleep he twitched, tossed and turned, and sometimes even cried. At that moments, In-Ho himself almost cried. But he still stubbornly continued to try, regularly rubbing Gi-Hun’s muscles and making him to drink endless herbal teas.
It seemed that the fact that some psychological traumas, apparently, would never heal was much more painful for In-Ho than for Gi-Huh himself.
This evening was no different from many other evenings. The light in the room was no longer on, except for the night light on the bedside table. Gi-Hun was lying on his stomach with his hands under his head and breathing so deeply and relaxed that In-Ho could see the muscles rolling on his beautiful bare back.
One would think that Gi-Hun was already asleep if from time to time, when In-Ho's fingers found the right point, he didn’t exhale too loudly or even moan, bringing his shoulder blades together. Actually, they agreed a long time ago that Gi-Hun would not hold back, as he always used to do before. Once upon a time, Gi-Hun was ashamed of his reaction and sensitivity, even when they started dating after the games were stopped. But in the end, In-Ho knew Gi-Hun almost better than he knew himself and saw him in completely different states, so there was nothing to hide how much Gi-Hun is actually pleased with ordinary human care and despite the fact that his muscles had not hurt for several months because of this almost daily ritual, it still felt damn pleasant.
Especially since In-Ho repeatedly repeated that Gi-Hun's moans even flattered him (which incredibly embarrassed his boyfriend) and even more so that when Gi-Hun himself did In-Ho a massage or ran fingers through his hair, In-Ho was NEVER embarrassed.
But most importantly, before, when Gi-Hun tried to restrain his moans and reactions, biting his lip or the edge of the pillow and clenching his fists, his whole body, of course, immediately strained, making all of In-Ho's efforts in vain.
Therefore, when Gi-Hun once again noisily and long exhaled the name of his lover, tilting his head back and bringing his shoulder blades together after In-Ho especially successfully pressed his knuckles into the base of one of them, In-Ho broke into the most smug smile in the world.
“Do you like it?”
“Very much!”
“I'm glad, my dear! You're just a big happy cat, when I do this, I'm delighted!”, with these words, In-Ho, succumbing to an uncontrollable rush of tenderness, gently scratched his nails right on his too thin neck, behind and on the sides, as if Gi-Hun was a cat for real.
However, suddenly (for both of them) Gi-Hun choked loudly with his own breath and grabbed his boyfriend by the hand without turning around. In-Ho raised his eyebrows in amazement, his other hand, still free, hesitantly lay down on Gi-Hun's shoulder and soothingly squeezed him.
“What happened, my love? I'm sorry, did that tickle you?”
“Just a little bit”
“I'm sorry, sorry! I'll be more careful, let's take back to your back and rub it some more", In-Ho purred soothingly, carefully releasing his hand from the grip and starting to knead both shoulders. However, he did it rather mechanically, since his thoughts were now occupied with something completely different. In-Ho thought hard, but couldn't grasp some specific thought, which for some reason should have become very important. They obviously overlooked something important, but what exactly?.. In-Ho looked at his fingers, lightly but with pressure running over bare skin, leaving behind a herd of goosebumps.
In-Ho was mesmerised by his own nails, drowning in his mind, when Gi-Hun was almost tossed into the air from the bed, as if In-Ho's nails, sliding down the sides without any pressure, were actually pieces of ice.
“Shhh, why are you twitching like that? We've just relaxed you... Well, don't be tight!”
Instead of proper answer Gi-Hun just whinnied something indistinct into the pillow and lightly squirmed.
“Poor thing, are you that ticklish? Don't answer though, I can see it anyway! I'm sorry again... But you're so adorable! So beautiful, so sensitive! Just a gift! Breathe out, let's do it here, between the shoulder blades, I'll be careful!”
But the game has already begun... In-Ho quickly scratched all ten fingers with his nails exactly right between the shoulder blades, in a place, the sensitivity of which he knew PERFECTLY from the very beginning. Gi-Hun always reacted very sharply when In-Ho pressed the right point there. It's no wonder that a quick touch of nails would tickle him.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAAAH”
“You don't like it so much?” In-Ho asked teasingly, not only knowing the answer in advance, but also feeling the warmth of anticipation spilling over his own body. If his boyfriend squealed so much from the tickling even on his back, what could have been waiting for him ahead. In-Ho hardly forced himself not to continue... for now. Just to let Gi-Hun to answer.
“You remember that... I can't stand it at all!" Gi-Hun whined again, bashfully poking his forehead into the pillow.
And then In-Ho finally caught up with a thought he couldn't cling to a couple of minutes ago. Well, of course he remembered, how could he forget at all... Here it is!
In-Ho couldn't believe his own guess. So many weeks of effort (although they both liked the process, but still) and without any result, although the answer was so close... In-Ho himself felt a tremor running down his own spine. He swallowed and leaned closer to his lover's ear.
“Gi-Hun?”
“Mmmm?”
"That day... Well, then, on... on the island," In-Ho felt how Gi-Hun barely shuddered and immediately began to rub his back faster and harder, as if apologising for an unpleasant reminder, "when I first offered you a massage. You said that only then did you manage to sleep without your terrible nightmares. But I've become much better at it, and now I'm not just your fellow teammate who slightly crumpled your back. Now I'm your favourite person, and we have all these oils and candles and our soft bed. And I see what you like, I see how you relax physically, but your brain doesn't really rest"
Gi-Hun listened silently.
"That evening, right before you fell asleep, there was something else besides a massage... And I thought, what if you don't need to relax in order to sleep soundly, but you need me to help you get tired instead?”
“Really?”, Gi-Hun grinned, turning over his shoulder.
“Oh, shut up", In-Ho laughed, playfully pushing Gi-Hun in the shoulder, "Not now. Now I mean... What about tickling?”
"Tickling?!", now Gi-Hun was already completely up on his elbows and looking straight at In-Ho with some mixture of shock, excitement, bewilderment and slight panic
In-Ho slid off Gi-Hun's thighs to the bed next to him and laughed warmly at that look.
“Yes, sweetie, tickling. I know you're very nervous about it but hear me out! You like that I care about you, you like my massages, and believe me, I love it all too! It's a pleasure to see you so relaxed! But it would be no less pleasant for both of us if you didn't wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night, right? And in general, my whole body is already bruised, from the way you kicking me at night!”
Gi-Hun snorted, too amused by how In-Ho could not resist this humourous reproach even among such frank speech. Although a slight injection of guilt still did not pass by. Probably, it was this injection that made him listen further, despite the fact that the sentence seemed delusive. This is exactly what Gi-Hun decided to voice out loud, finally turning over on his back and now looking at In-Ho from the bottom up, albeit in a less warily way.
“Well, I don't know, In-Ho... It's... Well, it's a little weird, don't you think?”
"I do!" In-Ho admitted easily, "But, as I said, simple physical relaxation is obviously not enough for your brain. Maybe you need to get pretty tired? And not to force you now to running circles around the house, right in the middle of the night, moreover under the rain. Moreover, I'm not sure it would tire you so much, you're in great shape", In-Ho smiled again with his Hollywood smile and scratched five fingers on Gi-Hun’s press, as if in confirmation of his words. Gi-Hun also smiled widely in response, although in his case it turned out absolutely reflexively.
“Yes, and all in all! You're already incredibly beautiful and charming, but when you laugh...", both hands crawled from the press to the sides, stroking the body with confident wide circles and suddenly squeezed a couple of times. Gi-Hun immediately laughed high and loudly and grabbed his bf’s wrists.
“Here we go! You see how great it is!”
Gi-Hun let out a few more residual laughs and took a few deep breaths and exhaled several times, despite the fact that so far everything was really limited to just a couple of squeezes and now In-Ho's hands only tightly covered his bare sides with his palms and were no longer tickling at all.
In-Ho only had time to think once again about how madly sensitive Gi-Hun is and hope that not all his appearance now gives out excited anticipation.
“I don't know, darling", Gi-Hun said uncertainly, stroking In-Ho's hands. "Do you really think it will work?"
“I don't know, but nothing will stop us from trying, right?”
Gi-Hun had absolutely no idea what to answer.
“Ooh, is my boy nervous? Is anyone here so afraid of just a silly tickling that he is not ready to tolerate it?”
“Stop it!!”
“Come on, come on, honey, let's try, if not for you, then do it at least for me!”
What a bastard. It always worked.
“Ugh... Okay”, Gi-Hun decided, trying to hide a slight panic behind the irritation. “But it's just ridiculous, you're a big kid!”
“Oooh, I don't know, Gi-Hun! Then prove to us what an adult you are if you don't scream and cry now", In-Ho purred, accompanying each of his words with another step with his fingers up the sides to the ribs and higher.
Gi-Hun trembled.
“WAIT!!!”
In-Ho froze and curiously tilted his head to the side.
“How will you realise that it's time to stop?”
“Oooh, I'll understand”, In-Ho grinned slyly and his fingers crawled on the sides again, squirming just a centimetre away from him.
“NO!” Despite the fact that In-Ho didn't even touch, Gi-Hun's cry came out too high and hysterical.
In-Ho completely stopped again.
“It won't work, I beg you, please, let's make a deal!”
“Are you still nervous? Ah, I can't wait to start. All right! As soon as you say "enough," I will definitely stop”, In-Ho leaned forward to Gi-Hun and kiss him on the temple.
“And that's it? Is that simple?”
“Well”, In-Ho shrugged his shoulders. “But only…” his fingers started to crawl around his higher ribs again, “neither "please"…”
“HAHAHHAHSHAH”
“Nore "stop", fingers circled and scratched the lower ribs now.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”
And "no" won't make me stop actually. Only "enough" the most direct text! Just that word! Because I can't deprive you of the opportunity to be just shouting and asking or even pleading if you want! It would be cruel, plus you need to release all this energy", during his tirade, In-Ho was building up the speed, and finishing the speech, he literally pounced with claws on Gi-Hun's sides as if all the time before that he was just burning with impatience to finally start tickling in full force. In fact, that's exactly how it was.
Gi-Hun was jumping on the bed and he screamed so high that it was hard to believe that an adult man could even do it with his voice.
“Please, In-HOOO, PLEEASEHAHAHAHHA”
In-Ho just laughed with him.
“Please, sweetheart? So how can I refuse if you're asking so desperately?”
Gi-Hun couldn't answer anything, bursting apart with laughter. When he began to desperately move his feet on the bed behind In-Ho, it seemed that he was some strangely marionette and all his nerves were stretched threads, as touching each rib in turn made his feet knock on the bed so that if he was standing now instead of lying down, he would dance tap or something like that. Each word of In-Ho seemed to multiply the sensations tenfold. Gi-Hun tried to follow the hands of the former frontman's hands, but the tickling made him weak and he never had time to intercept them, and several times In-Ho even grabbed Gi-Hun’s hands himself and gently forcing him to hold on to the back of the bed. Through the wild stream of incessant hysterical thought "It tickles, it tickles, how tickles", Gi-Hun also tried to think that all this was being done for his own good, so he even had enough for a few seconds not to give up, but In-Ho was somehow too good both in tickling and in detailed comments about every place where his ruthless fingers got.
"Tickle-tickle the tummy!", he cooed immediately, activating his tender threat, "How sweetly you whine! Let's squeeze your little sides then! That's it! Left *compression* and right *compression again and again on the left side* and riiiight here, higher, closer to the ribs, right?"
“NONONOOOHOOO NOHOOO", prayed Gi-Hun, giving up in a vain attempt to intercept his boyfriend's hands, and grabbing the pillow instead, covering his own face with it on top.
“You know, sweetie, you're asking me, but you're still ready to stop! I think that means you're not tired enough yet!” With pretended thoughtfulness In-Ho sang, leaning forward, snatching a pillow from Gi-Hun's weak grip to throw it away, and grabbing both of Gi-Hun's wrists with one of his so that he would stop fighting back.
“Actually, it's not surprising, it's just my fingers gently touching your little tummy, there's nothing to get tired of! But I have an idea! Let's have a chat! I've noticed that it makes you even more sensitive, right?”
“Don't do it!!!”
“Stop it! Such a big boy can't stand my fingers or even just my voice and stupid words? What nonsense!”
“IN-HOOOOOO!!”
“Oh, how you're screaming! My charming boy! That's right, you're such a brave, everything is going great! No need to be shy and hold back! Now you'll laugh well, shout, release all your emotions, and then we'll stroke your back, scratch your head and you’ll sleep sweetly, without any nightmares, right?”, saying this, In-Ho walked his fingers quite lightly, all over his torso, as if he was just stroking with his fingertips, barely touching. But this, coupled with terribly deep and sugary In-Ho’s voice was enough for Gi-Hun to whine and scream, choking on his own laughter, which he couldn’t hold back no matter how hard he actually wanted it.
Although in general, In-Ho was absolutely right - there was no point in holding back. Firstly, Gi-Hun was too ticklish for his own good, and secondly, even if In-Ho's method of getting rid of nightmares was extremely strange, he still sincerely wanted to help. It would be nice if it helped! How unbearably ticklish he was now..
It seemed that if these efforts were in vain, Gi-Hun would just cry. It is possible that In-Ho will be broken.
Otherwise, In-Ho will come up with something even more crazy and the next night he will bring an electric toothbrush to drill her already suffered navel or armpits or legs... or all at once... no, this could not be allowed! Please let the tickle work now, while he still has time to breathe between fits of laughter.
One of them, by the way, broke the silence of the room again when In-Ho's fingers finally found his defenceless armpits.
“Oooh, how good! How great!! How do you like it when I tickle your armpits! Just look how much fun it makes you!”
“SHUT UHAHAHAHAHAAP!!”
“Why? We agreed to chat, didn't we? It makes you laugh even more, isn't it? Tickle-tickle-tickle! Tickle-tickle-tickle!”
“HAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAH!”
“How beautiful you are! I wish you could see yourself now! So cute, so defenceless", leaving only one hand to pinch and dig his armpit, In-Ho began to almost thoughtfully draw spirals with moving fingertips on his trembling stomach. The effect was amazing.
“IN-HO PLEAAAHAHAHAHAASE PLEASE NOOOOHOHOHOOO”
“That's it, yes, of course, it's tickling! But you have to endure it, then you'll feel good!”
Gi-Hun howled tiredly before disappearing into a completely hysterical laugh again.
In-Ho with incredible delighted look turned back and clenching his knees a couple of times to extract from Gi-Hun a couple of funny squealing squeaks that interrupted this plea, the end of which, however, already drowned in laughter.
In-Ho put one hand in the defenceless armpit, and the other directly into the stomach again, but suddenly, finally, both of his wrists tightly squeezed.
In-Ho looked his boyfriend straight in the eyes, tilting his head to the side like a curious dog and smiling in pretended amazement.
"Something is wrong?"
"I can't... I can't stand it when... Ahhh..." Gi-Hun exhaled tiredly and tilted his head back on the pillows, stroking In-Ho's wrists with his fingers, but not letting them go.
"Two of your cheeling most sensitive places at once, poor thing?" In-Ho suggested, bending over and kissing Gi-Hun on the sweaty forehead.
Gi-Hun raised his head again and silently nodded slowly.
"Let go of my hand, my love, what are you doing? We're doing it for a reason, have you forgotten?”
"I can't…"
"Well, okay. Let's try it differently! Do you trust me?”
“Yes…”
"Good boy!”, In-Ho intertwined his fingers with his bf’s ones and carefully bending Gi-Hun's hands at the elbows, pressed them to the bed at hip level. Gi-Hun kept following their hands obediently, still trying to catch his breath.
"That's it!" In-Ho almost whispered, continuing to hold his hands and sliding a little lower from Gi-Hun's hips almost to his knees, "Take a deep breath, okay?"
And Gi-Hun didn't have time to say a word, didn't have time to make a sound, as a loud strong blow collapsed right into the centre of his stomach. Straight into the navel.
It was worse than EVERYTHING he had already experienced today. It seemed that somehow a tickling sensation was just through his whole body. And it seemed that he was tickled now not even on the skin, but literally on EVERY cell of the body. Gi-Hun bent on the bed in an arc and SCREAMED not in his own voice.
"Wow", In-Ho was impressed, breaking away from his belly, "Did you like it?"
“NOOOOO NOOOOOOO!!!”
“How not?
“PLEASE DON'T, LET ME GOOO”
“I can't, dear! You left me no choice! How else do you suggest me to tickle you if I have to hold your hands?”
"In no way..." Gi-Hun couldn't finish the phrase, because he suffocated with his own words, despite the fact that In-Ho was lower, he was much stronger than himself, so Gi-Hun only helplessly squeezed on the bed left and right, knocking down the sheets, but unable to tear out his hands, "Don't tickle me at all!!"
"I'm not tickling you, kitten! I'm telling your tummy a secret!", this tease was something that In-Ho often used for his brother when he was little. And it was almost unbelievable how she killed such an adult man who had gone through a lot. But that's how it was - Gi-Hun went absolutely crazy. At the edge of clouded consciousness, he remembered that they had agreed on something with In-Ho, that some of all those requests that he had already shouted should have stopped this torture, but before Gi-Hun could try again, another raspberry attacked his sunken stomach.
And then another one, just a couple of moments later than the previous one, before Gi-Hun was able to get air into the burning lungs. As in the fog he watched as In-Ho was removed from his stomach again, wiping his lips with his knuckles and before he repeated this torture, Gi-Hun himself took a deep breath and through tears cried out with all one’s might the first thing that came to his mind.
“Totally agree, that's enough!", In-Ho agreed unexpectedly easily, lowering both of his palms on his stomach, without any intention of tickling again, but still making Gi-Hun to flinch with a loud sob, as if from another electric shock, "I see that you are tired, my little ticklish kitten"
“Stop ihit", Gi-Hun howled, with a residual laugh and covered In-Ho's palms with his own.
“Breathe Out! Now you need to sleep to tell me tomorrow how our little experiment went, okay?”
But Gi-Hun couldn't answer anything, just nodded tiredly, levelling his breathing, till the moment when he started to sink into a long calm sleep, full of beautiful cozy dreams, without a single nightmare.
BROOOOOOO THIS FIC WAS SO GOODHSIEKFJISKRISF AAAHHHH
“Oh, THAT’S how were ticklish, right?” SENT ME IN THE BIGEST LEE MOOD YOU HAVE NO IDEA ABDJSKFK
the way In-ho was teasing Gi-hun AAAAHHHHHH you did AMAZING WITH THIS FIC!!!! I’m so glad I scavenged for your recent fics cause I MISSED reading such banger fics from you Hyperfix!!!! Aaaahhh LOVEEEEEE
Also, the massage trope I LOVE!!!! You could make tens of hundreds of the same trope with different story lines, and I’d be here eating all of the RIGHT up!!! I never get tired of the trope!!!
OMG, SATURN YOU’RE BOOSTING MY MOOD SOOO MUCH EVERY TIME WITH NO EXCEPTIONS❣️🥹🥹
I wanna tattoo all the kindest words and compliments which I have ever gotten from you on my forehead or at least eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner… (cuteness aggression panic moment aah)
I would leave it as a comment with the tag of you, just to not make the chain of reblog endless, but I have no choice since there is no option to sent an images in the comments section!
Anyway, the real image of us, envying each other’s creativity!
sorry guys i've been so busy lately, i shouldn't even be drawing this right now, but i couldn't help but doodle a few things, i'm feeling really overwhelmed. so if i liked and haven't reblog your fic yet, it means i haven't read it yet. I just saving them to read later 🙏
Hear me out his cheeks are TICKLISH.
who can blame me🤷♀️ this is been my favorite ship in season 1🤝
A/N: Omg… I was working on this FOR AGES and finally… FINALLY!!! 🎉🥳 (I have an excuse actually! I don’t know exactly but seems like it’s the longest fic I’ve ever written)
Lately I’ve been thinking about tickle massage trope (again) too much and I also was thinking about my very first fic too much, so I was kinda regretting about I spell my main obsessive idea at that times when I didn’t like my own writing at all but… This only a trope which I could use in any way I want too, so yes, I’ve done just ONE MORE fic where Gi-Hun has some issues and In-Ho has his own vision of the solution 👀
This is a problem with Gi-Hun’s nightmares this time and also in the second part of this fic my boys are real couple (you’ve been warned in case you don’t like it) but it’s a PURE FLUFF and absolutely SFW, so…
Anyway, I hope you’ll excuse me this self-repeating of the concept (me personally just finding this kinda cute taking back to the roots! You know, “Best therapy”, “Charge for treatment”, “Sleeping Pills”… Well, ✨medicine✨!) and you’ll enjoy! Please, let me know if you will! 😌
————————————
If someone had told Seong Gi-Hun earlier that nightmares would return to him in adulthood, he probably wouldn't have believed it. Despite huge debts, heavy divorce and gambling addiction, Gi-Hun was always too carefree and in love with life for this. Unfortunately, games on a strange island where he got in 2020 and everything he experienced during them and after traumatised him like nothing and never before.
The next three years actually were a living nightmare. And nightmares haunted former winner every night. Sometimes he couldn't remember why he woke up in a cold sweat, sometimes he remembered too well. Over time, Gi-Hun became afraid to fall asleep and tried to last as long as possible due to coffee, but even when he was awake, images from nightmares continued to soak in his mind. After a few months, Gi-Hun did not care anymore. He didn't stop seeing nightmares, he didn't even stop crying sometimes in his sleep, but he didn't feel fear anymore. To be fair Gi-Hun has never experienced almost anything else at all and almost all the time.
The decision to return to the second games was a very frequent plot of his dreams, so that's exactly how player 456 felt when he realised it, waking up at the island again - absolutely delusional.
Meeting the closest friend on the island, whom Gi-Hun had been diligently avoiding all these three years, was at the same time the only thing that made his heart tremble joyfully for a second and another nightmare plot. Also.
To meet there also a new person who aroused genuine interest in him and some kind of attraction was... unexpected.
Now, among countless nightmares, Gi-Hun saw something else. To be precise, someone else... Although it was so hard to believe that Gi-Hun quickly attributed the appearance of his new acquaintance in his dreams in a romantic role to the fact that he just finally went crazy. It still scared him, but there were a lot of more frightening things at the games. And his head was busy with something completely different. So dealing with this strangeness is the last thing player 456 was going to do.
But one evening something too unexpected happened...
There were only a few minutes left before the lights were turned off, but most of the players have already took their beds, some have even already slept and dreamed, but not Gi-Hun. Once again here, he began to be afraid of his dreams again, as it was before.
To all those terrible deaths of loved ones, which he is already used to seeing almost every night, a new character has been added - player 001.
Gi-Hun buried his head in his knees and groaned softly and pitifully. Apparently, not as quiet as he expected, because the bed under him bent more strongly, and someone else's hand gently but confidently lay on his shoulder.
“Can't you sleep?”
Gi-Hun shuddered when he heard a painfully familiar voice and only now raised his head to meet the attentive gaze of brown eyes. Even too attentive...
“What about you?”
“But I asked the question first!”
Gi-Hun was silent for a while, continuing to selflessly look straight into Yong-Il’s eyes. He didn't give up either, so Gi-Hun finally snorted tiredly and looked at the corner of the blanket, which immediately began to fiddle with his long fingers.
“It's all right, Yong-Il, don’t mind it!”
“Seriously? But why are you sitting here with such an unhappy tired look instead of resting and gaining strength before tomorrow?”
Gi-Hun exhaustedly looked Yong-Il in the face again, noting with confusion that on the edge of consciousness, like 25th frames, flashed the image from the one of his dreams...
Gi-Hun blinked absently, looking away and gave up eventually.
“I can't sleep. I haven't been able to for three years, and it's getting worse here. Go to sleep, don't worry about me, you'd better get enough rest. Unless you came to offer me a horse dose of sleeping pills”
“I haven’t any sleeping pills, of course," Yong-Il smiled with the corner of his mouth, "But there is actually one method. Would you let me to give you a massage, Seong Gi-Hun? Your body will relax if the mind can't do it and you fall asleep anyway!"
Apparently, Gi-Hun dozed off and fell into one of his new nightmares after all. Well, of course. Now Yong-Il will kiss him, the light will go out and all the players will magically evaporate. And then the pink soldiers will burst in and the whole bed will be coloured with the blood of Yong-Il, and he, Gi-Hun, will have to watch instead of being mercifully killed...
Gi-Hun imperceptibly pinched his own hand and suddenly grimaced with an unpleasant feeling... Weird. Well, is he really not sleeping?
“Are you serious?” Gi-Hun asked incredulously.
“Sure”, Yong-Il shrugged his shoulders, "It's not a big deal for me, so can I try to help you?”
“I appreciate your care, but I don't think it will help me, for real", Gi-Hun smiled back, but his smile seemed sad. Some kind of nonsense, so it started to seem that he's really asleep, it's just that nightmares have become more realistic.
“Maybe it won't help! But you don't lose anything if you let me at least try, right?”, In-Ho smiled either, obviously not ready to give up that easy.
“Uhm… Okay so…”
It turned out to be really unexpectedly pleasant... The fingers of the player 001 somehow miraculously found all the nodes and the necessary points, almost without bringing pain.
Gi-Hun closed his eyes and took a deep breath, having time to think that even if he couldn't sleep, at least he would really be able to physically relax so much that at least the next few hours would pass a little better than before. So far…
As long as In-Ho’s fingers pinched Gi-Hun’s lower back’s sides very gently…
“Quite ticklish, right?”, In-Ho asked in such a tone that a wide satisfied smile in his voice could be heard TOO WELL. Gi-Hun blushed thickly in a matter of seconds and buried his face deeper in the pillow, apparently hoping to drown in it. The way he shuddered and squealed from this harmless movement couldn’t have gone unnoticed, but Gi-Hun still hoped for it until this terribly tactless question in his opinion broke this hope to pieces.
"I...", the player 456 started, but treacherous fingers interrupted him, now quickly pinching several times in a row and now quite on the sides, "OUCH! I don't knoOHOHAHAHA... No one has tickled me for a long tiAHAHHAAME!!!", Gi-Hun broke down, now writhing completely frankly, too shocked by the way his fingers began to run on the sides up and down, it seems to no longer try to disguise the frank tickle with a massage... No way this all was happening for real...
It is not entirely clear what Gi-Hun was counting on, if saying that, he greatly exaggerated. Three years can hardly really be called “a long time” to start doubting whether you stopped being ticklish, and exactly three years ago Gi-Hun, as Jung-Bae liked to say, was the most ticklish man in the world: one poke to his ribs of fast tummy scratch or knee squeeze and Gi-Hun was COMPLETELY disarmed.
Tickling in general was a big and significant part of communication with people for Gi-Hun’s past silly and playful version of himself. But firstly, these three years seemed like an eternity to him, and secondly, too much had changed in him, and he could not be sure that physical sensitivity had not left him along with emotional sensitivity. Well... Gi-Hun didn't even imagine HOW wrong he was...
"How so? Poor youuuu... Well, it seems like you're still ticklish!", player 001 didn’t settle down, incredibly pleased with this discovery.
Gi-Hun turned over to grab Yong-Il by the hands, but 001 was both faster and stronger than him, so less than ten seconds later Gi-Hun bitterly regretted this decision, because now his own hands were pressed above his head, and all the most sensitive places were open for Yong-Il's second free hand. It was the most shameful defeat in his life...
Fingers mercilessly digged into the ribs under the T-shirt.
“PLEEHEHEASE PLEASE DOHOHOHOON'T”
“Oh, THAT’S how we're ticklish, right?”
“NOHOHO HAHAHAHAH”
"Breathe deeply, Gi-Hun! You'll have to be patient!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAA”
It seemed that it simply couldn't be worse for Gi-Hun when another familiar voice sounded just a couple of steps away from him.
“Well well well, who's screaming here?” Jung-Bae cooed and although Gi-Hun couldn't see his insidious smile now, he heard it too clearly. Again.. Just not that...
"HAHAHAHHSHSH JUNG-BAEEEEEHEHE, HE TICKLES ME!", Gi-Hun cried out, mentally pleading Jung-Bae to help but don’t do anything stupid.
"Does Yong-Il tickle you? That’s great, isn't it? That's what you like so much! You must have missed that feeling so bad! I should have guessed earlier!”
"I haAHAHAHAH… I HATE YOU!!! AAAHAHAH"
Jung-Bae raised an eyebrow in pretended amazement and gased theatrically, pressing his hand to his heart, as if Gi-Hun's words had just hurt him right there.
“How rude you are! Do you know what?”
Gi-Hun would have turned pale with fear if he hadn't fought now in a tickling hysteria with a red face.
"Yong-Il! If you squeeze his knees, he will cry and whine!"
"REEEEALLY?", Yong-Il glowed, as if he had just learned the best news of his life. Gi-Hun was ready to cry just out of anger at Jung-Bae, "Seong Gi-hun, is that true? You're so brave, strong, and will you CRY if I touch your knees?"
"NOOOOHOHOHOHOOOO"
"No?? Let's check this out?”
And only couple of minutes later when Gi-Hun cried for real and Yong-Il took pity on him and let him go, and then persuaded him to close his eyes, restore his breath and it seemed that Yong-Il even stroked Gi-Hun’s head, gently going through his short hair until his victim fell asleep. Player 456 did not see nightmares for the first time in many years.
———————————
And the next night was the night of the revolt and Gi-Hun didn’t sleep at all. Neither on that terrible, perhaps the worst night of his life, nor a few more nights after.
Everything changed the day when the Frontman revealed his face to former winner.
The rehabilitation process was very long and it took a long time before their life began to resemble the life of an ordinary happy couple. Almost completely, apart from nightmares, which became even worse.
Neither relaxing foam baths, nor scented candles and sticks in the bedroom, nor even massages helped. All these methods were good, but they didn't work at all, which was depressing. But the last one on the list was even more surprising - massage has already helped once, despite the fact that the atmosphere at the games was endlessly scarier and more tense. But a simple massage helped even then, in one of the most terrible places on the planet, on a hard bed, among desperate, blood-stained friends and enemies, people, many of whom were now living their last night. And the players 001 and 456 were strangers to each other back then. But it still helped, and now - in no way.
In-Ho was upset and disappointed every time. Gi-Hun was killed by the way he tries for him and nothing comes out. That is, of course, Gi-Hun almost purred when In-Ho washed his head while Gi-Hun melted in the foam bath. He always exhaled disappointedly when his bf’s strong fingers squeezed his already completely relaxed shoulders for the last time after a long thorough massage. And this all relaxed Gi-Hun for real and it’s even flattered him - no one had ever cared about him so much and no one ever tried to do him so well... So Gi-Hun always fell asleep easily and quickly, but by the middle of the night the nightmares still came back. A couple of times Gi-Hun even tried to lie, but it was useless, because in his sleep he twitched, tossed and turned, and sometimes even cried. At that moments, In-Ho himself almost cried. But he still stubbornly continued to try, regularly rubbing Gi-Hun’s muscles and making him to drink endless herbal teas.
It seemed that the fact that some psychological traumas, apparently, would never heal was much more painful for In-Ho than for Gi-Huh himself.
This evening was no different from many other evenings. The light in the room was no longer on, except for the night light on the bedside table. Gi-Hun was lying on his stomach with his hands under his head and breathing so deeply and relaxed that In-Ho could see the muscles rolling on his beautiful bare back.
One would think that Gi-Hun was already asleep if from time to time, when In-Ho's fingers found the right point, he didn’t exhale too loudly or even moan, bringing his shoulder blades together. Actually, they agreed a long time ago that Gi-Hun would not hold back, as he always used to do before. Once upon a time, Gi-Hun was ashamed of his reaction and sensitivity, even when they started dating after the games were stopped. But in the end, In-Ho knew Gi-Hun almost better than he knew himself and saw him in completely different states, so there was nothing to hide how much Gi-Hun is actually pleased with ordinary human care and despite the fact that his muscles had not hurt for several months because of this almost daily ritual, it still felt damn pleasant.
Especially since In-Ho repeatedly repeated that Gi-Hun's moans even flattered him (which incredibly embarrassed his boyfriend) and even more so that when Gi-Hun himself did In-Ho a massage or ran fingers through his hair, In-Ho was NEVER embarrassed.
But most importantly, before, when Gi-Hun tried to restrain his moans and reactions, biting his lip or the edge of the pillow and clenching his fists, his whole body, of course, immediately strained, making all of In-Ho's efforts in vain.
Therefore, when Gi-Hun once again noisily and long exhaled the name of his lover, tilting his head back and bringing his shoulder blades together after In-Ho especially successfully pressed his knuckles into the base of one of them, In-Ho broke into the most smug smile in the world.
“Do you like it?”
“Very much!”
“I'm glad, my dear! You're just a big happy cat, when I do this, I'm delighted!”, with these words, In-Ho, succumbing to an uncontrollable rush of tenderness, gently scratched his nails right on his too thin neck, behind and on the sides, as if Gi-Hun was a cat for real.
However, suddenly (for both of them) Gi-Hun choked loudly with his own breath and grabbed his boyfriend by the hand without turning around. In-Ho raised his eyebrows in amazement, his other hand, still free, hesitantly lay down on Gi-Hun's shoulder and soothingly squeezed him.
“What happened, my love? I'm sorry, did that tickle you?”
“Just a little bit”
“I'm sorry, sorry! I'll be more careful, let's take back to your back and rub it some more", In-Ho purred soothingly, carefully releasing his hand from the grip and starting to knead both shoulders. However, he did it rather mechanically, since his thoughts were now occupied with something completely different. In-Ho thought hard, but couldn't grasp some specific thought, which for some reason should have become very important. They obviously overlooked something important, but what exactly?.. In-Ho looked at his fingers, lightly but with pressure running over bare skin, leaving behind a herd of goosebumps.
In-Ho was mesmerised by his own nails, drowning in his mind, when Gi-Hun was almost tossed into the air from the bed, as if In-Ho's nails, sliding down the sides without any pressure, were actually pieces of ice.
“Shhh, why are you twitching like that? We've just relaxed you... Well, don't be tight!”
Instead of proper answer Gi-Hun just whinnied something indistinct into the pillow and lightly squirmed.
“Poor thing, are you that ticklish? Don't answer though, I can see it anyway! I'm sorry again... But you're so adorable! So beautiful, so sensitive! Just a gift! Breathe out, let's do it here, between the shoulder blades, I'll be careful!”
But the game has already begun... In-Ho quickly scratched all ten fingers with his nails exactly right between the shoulder blades, in a place, the sensitivity of which he knew PERFECTLY from the very beginning. Gi-Hun always reacted very sharply when In-Ho pressed the right point there. It's no wonder that a quick touch of nails would tickle him.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAAAH”
“You don't like it so much?” In-Ho asked teasingly, not only knowing the answer in advance, but also feeling the warmth of anticipation spilling over his own body. If his boyfriend squealed so much from the tickling even on his back, what could have been waiting for him ahead. In-Ho hardly forced himself not to continue... for now. Just to let Gi-Hun to answer.
“You remember that... I can't stand it at all!" Gi-Hun whined again, bashfully poking his forehead into the pillow.
And then In-Ho finally caught up with a thought he couldn't cling to a couple of minutes ago. Well, of course he remembered, how could he forget at all... Here it is!
In-Ho couldn't believe his own guess. So many weeks of effort (although they both liked the process, but still) and without any result, although the answer was so close... In-Ho himself felt a tremor running down his own spine. He swallowed and leaned closer to his lover's ear.
“Gi-Hun?”
“Mmmm?”
"That day... Well, then, on... on the island," In-Ho felt how Gi-Hun barely shuddered and immediately began to rub his back faster and harder, as if apologising for an unpleasant reminder, "when I first offered you a massage. You said that only then did you manage to sleep without your terrible nightmares. But I've become much better at it, and now I'm not just your fellow teammate who slightly crumpled your back. Now I'm your favourite person, and we have all these oils and candles and our soft bed. And I see what you like, I see how you relax physically, but your brain doesn't really rest"
Gi-Hun listened silently.
"That evening, right before you fell asleep, there was something else besides a massage... And I thought, what if you don't need to relax in order to sleep soundly, but you need me to help you get tired instead?”
“Really?”, Gi-Hun grinned, turning over his shoulder.
“Oh, shut up", In-Ho laughed, playfully pushing Gi-Hun in the shoulder, "Not now. Now I mean... What about tickling?”
"Tickling?!", now Gi-Hun was already completely up on his elbows and looking straight at In-Ho with some mixture of shock, excitement, bewilderment and slight panic
In-Ho slid off Gi-Hun's thighs to the bed next to him and laughed warmly at that look.
“Yes, sweetie, tickling. I know you're very nervous about it but hear me out! You like that I care about you, you like my massages, and believe me, I love it all too! It's a pleasure to see you so relaxed! But it would be no less pleasant for both of us if you didn't wake up from nightmares in the middle of the night, right? And in general, my whole body is already bruised, from the way you kicking me at night!”
Gi-Hun snorted, too amused by how In-Ho could not resist this humourous reproach even among such frank speech. Although a slight injection of guilt still did not pass by. Probably, it was this injection that made him listen further, despite the fact that the sentence seemed delusive. This is exactly what Gi-Hun decided to voice out loud, finally turning over on his back and now looking at In-Ho from the bottom up, albeit in a less warily way.
“Well, I don't know, In-Ho... It's... Well, it's a little weird, don't you think?”
"I do!" In-Ho admitted easily, "But, as I said, simple physical relaxation is obviously not enough for your brain. Maybe you need to get pretty tired? And not to force you now to running circles around the house, right in the middle of the night, moreover under the rain. Moreover, I'm not sure it would tire you so much, you're in great shape", In-Ho smiled again with his Hollywood smile and scratched five fingers on Gi-Hun’s press, as if in confirmation of his words. Gi-Hun also smiled widely in response, although in his case it turned out absolutely reflexively.
“Yes, and all in all! You're already incredibly beautiful and charming, but when you laugh...", both hands crawled from the press to the sides, stroking the body with confident wide circles and suddenly squeezed a couple of times. Gi-Hun immediately laughed high and loudly and grabbed his bf’s wrists.
“Here we go! You see how great it is!”
Gi-Hun let out a few more residual laughs and took a few deep breaths and exhaled several times, despite the fact that so far everything was really limited to just a couple of squeezes and now In-Ho's hands only tightly covered his bare sides with his palms and were no longer tickling at all.
In-Ho only had time to think once again about how madly sensitive Gi-Hun is and hope that not all his appearance now gives out excited anticipation.
“I don't know, darling", Gi-Hun said uncertainly, stroking In-Ho's hands. "Do you really think it will work?"
“I don't know, but nothing will stop us from trying, right?”
Gi-Hun had absolutely no idea what to answer.
“Ooh, is my boy nervous? Is anyone here so afraid of just a silly tickling that he is not ready to tolerate it?”
“Stop it!!”
“Come on, come on, honey, let's try, if not for you, then do it at least for me!”
What a bastard. It always worked.
“Ugh... Okay”, Gi-Hun decided, trying to hide a slight panic behind the irritation. “But it's just ridiculous, you're a big kid!”
“Oooh, I don't know, Gi-Hun! Then prove to us what an adult you are if you don't scream and cry now", In-Ho purred, accompanying each of his words with another step with his fingers up the sides to the ribs and higher.
Gi-Hun trembled.
“WAIT!!!”
In-Ho froze and curiously tilted his head to the side.
“How will you realise that it's time to stop?”
“Oooh, I'll understand”, In-Ho grinned slyly and his fingers crawled on the sides again, squirming just a centimetre away from him.
“NO!” Despite the fact that In-Ho didn't even touch, Gi-Hun's cry came out too high and hysterical.
In-Ho completely stopped again.
“It won't work, I beg you, please, let's make a deal!”
“Are you still nervous? Ah, I can't wait to start. All right! As soon as you say "enough," I will definitely stop”, In-Ho leaned forward to Gi-Hun and kiss him on the temple.
“And that's it? Is that simple?”
“Well”, In-Ho shrugged his shoulders. “But only…” his fingers started to crawl around his higher ribs again, “neither "please"…”
“HAHAHHAHSHAH”
“Nore "stop", fingers circled and scratched the lower ribs now.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH”
And "no" won't make me stop actually. Only "enough" the most direct text! Just that word! Because I can't deprive you of the opportunity to be just shouting and asking or even pleading if you want! It would be cruel, plus you need to release all this energy", during his tirade, In-Ho was building up the speed, and finishing the speech, he literally pounced with claws on Gi-Hun's sides as if all the time before that he was just burning with impatience to finally start tickling in full force. In fact, that's exactly how it was.
Gi-Hun was jumping on the bed and he screamed so high that it was hard to believe that an adult man could even do it with his voice.
“Please, In-HOOO, PLEEASEHAHAHAHHA”
In-Ho just laughed with him.
“Please, sweetheart? So how can I refuse if you're asking so desperately?”
Gi-Hun couldn't answer anything, bursting apart with laughter. When he began to desperately move his feet on the bed behind In-Ho, it seemed that he was some strangely marionette and all his nerves were stretched threads, as touching each rib in turn made his feet knock on the bed so that if he was standing now instead of lying down, he would dance tap or something like that. Each word of In-Ho seemed to multiply the sensations tenfold. Gi-Hun tried to follow the hands of the former frontman's hands, but the tickling made him weak and he never had time to intercept them, and several times In-Ho even grabbed Gi-Hun’s hands himself and gently forcing him to hold on to the back of the bed. Through the wild stream of incessant hysterical thought "It tickles, it tickles, how tickles", Gi-Hun also tried to think that all this was being done for his own good, so he even had enough for a few seconds not to give up, but In-Ho was somehow too good both in tickling and in detailed comments about every place where his ruthless fingers got.
"Tickle-tickle the tummy!", he cooed immediately, activating his tender threat, "How sweetly you whine! Let's squeeze your little sides then! That's it! Left *compression* and right *compression again and again on the left side* and riiiight here, higher, closer to the ribs, right?"
“NONONOOOHOOO NOHOOO", prayed Gi-Hun, giving up in a vain attempt to intercept his boyfriend's hands, and grabbing the pillow instead, covering his own face with it on top.
“You know, sweetie, you're asking me, but you're still ready to stop! I think that means you're not tired enough yet!” With pretended thoughtfulness In-Ho sang, leaning forward, snatching a pillow from Gi-Hun's weak grip to throw it away, and grabbing both of Gi-Hun's wrists with one of his so that he would stop fighting back.
“Actually, it's not surprising, it's just my fingers gently touching your little tummy, there's nothing to get tired of! But I have an idea! Let's have a chat! I've noticed that it makes you even more sensitive, right?”
“Don't do it!!!”
“Stop it! Such a big boy can't stand my fingers or even just my voice and stupid words? What nonsense!”
“IN-HOOOOOO!!”
“Oh, how you're screaming! My charming boy! That's right, you're such a brave, everything is going great! No need to be shy and hold back! Now you'll laugh well, shout, release all your emotions, and then we'll stroke your back, scratch your head and you’ll sleep sweetly, without any nightmares, right?”, saying this, In-Ho walked his fingers quite lightly, all over his torso, as if he was just stroking with his fingertips, barely touching. But this, coupled with terribly deep and sugary In-Ho’s voice was enough for Gi-Hun to whine and scream, choking on his own laughter, which he couldn’t hold back no matter how hard he actually wanted it.
Although in general, In-Ho was absolutely right - there was no point in holding back. Firstly, Gi-Hun was too ticklish for his own good, and secondly, even if In-Ho's method of getting rid of nightmares was extremely strange, he still sincerely wanted to help. It would be nice if it helped! How unbearably ticklish he was now..
It seemed that if these efforts were in vain, Gi-Hun would just cry. It is possible that In-Ho will be broken.
Otherwise, In-Ho will come up with something even more crazy and the next night he will bring an electric toothbrush to drill her already suffered navel or armpits or legs... or all at once... no, this could not be allowed! Please let the tickle work now, while he still has time to breathe between fits of laughter.
One of them, by the way, broke the silence of the room again when In-Ho's fingers finally found his defenceless armpits.
“Oooh, how good! How great!! How do you like it when I tickle your armpits! Just look how much fun it makes you!”
“SHUT UHAHAHAHAHAAP!!”
“Why? We agreed to chat, didn't we? It makes you laugh even more, isn't it? Tickle-tickle-tickle! Tickle-tickle-tickle!”
“HAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAH!”
“How beautiful you are! I wish you could see yourself now! So cute, so defenceless", leaving only one hand to pinch and dig his armpit, In-Ho began to almost thoughtfully draw spirals with moving fingertips on his trembling stomach. The effect was amazing.
“IN-HO PLEAAAHAHAHAHAASE PLEASE NOOOOHOHOHOOO”
“That's it, yes, of course, it's tickling! But you have to endure it, then you'll feel good!”
Gi-Hun howled tiredly before disappearing into a completely hysterical laugh again.
In-Ho with incredible delighted look turned back and clenching his knees a couple of times to extract from Gi-Hun a couple of funny squealing squeaks that interrupted this plea, the end of which, however, already drowned in laughter.
In-Ho put one hand in the defenceless armpit, and the other directly into the stomach again, but suddenly, finally, both of his wrists tightly squeezed.
In-Ho looked his boyfriend straight in the eyes, tilting his head to the side like a curious dog and smiling in pretended amazement.
"Something is wrong?"
"I can't... I can't stand it when... Ahhh..." Gi-Hun exhaled tiredly and tilted his head back on the pillows, stroking In-Ho's wrists with his fingers, but not letting them go.
"Two of your cheeling most sensitive places at once, poor thing?" In-Ho suggested, bending over and kissing Gi-Hun on the sweaty forehead.
Gi-Hun raised his head again and silently nodded slowly.
"Let go of my hand, my love, what are you doing? We're doing it for a reason, have you forgotten?”
"I can't…"
"Well, okay. Let's try it differently! Do you trust me?”
“Yes…”
"Good boy!”, In-Ho intertwined his fingers with his bf’s ones and carefully bending Gi-Hun's hands at the elbows, pressed them to the bed at hip level. Gi-Hun kept following their hands obediently, still trying to catch his breath.
"That's it!" In-Ho almost whispered, continuing to hold his hands and sliding a little lower from Gi-Hun's hips almost to his knees, "Take a deep breath, okay?"
And Gi-Hun didn't have time to say a word, didn't have time to make a sound, as a loud strong blow collapsed right into the centre of his stomach. Straight into the navel.
It was worse than EVERYTHING he had already experienced today. It seemed that somehow a tickling sensation was just through his whole body. And it seemed that he was tickled now not even on the skin, but literally on EVERY cell of the body. Gi-Hun bent on the bed in an arc and SCREAMED not in his own voice.
"Wow", In-Ho was impressed, breaking away from his belly, "Did you like it?"
“NOOOOO NOOOOOOO!!!”
“How not?
“PLEASE DON'T, LET ME GOOO”
“I can't, dear! You left me no choice! How else do you suggest me to tickle you if I have to hold your hands?”
"In no way..." Gi-Hun couldn't finish the phrase, because he suffocated with his own words, despite the fact that In-Ho was lower, he was much stronger than himself, so Gi-Hun only helplessly squeezed on the bed left and right, knocking down the sheets, but unable to tear out his hands, "Don't tickle me at all!!"
"I'm not tickling you, kitten! I'm telling your tummy a secret!", this tease was something that In-Ho often used for his brother when he was little. And it was almost unbelievable how she killed such an adult man who had gone through a lot. But that's how it was - Gi-Hun went absolutely crazy. At the edge of clouded consciousness, he remembered that they had agreed on something with In-Ho, that some of all those requests that he had already shouted should have stopped this torture, but before Gi-Hun could try again, another raspberry attacked his sunken stomach.
And then another one, just a couple of moments later than the previous one, before Gi-Hun was able to get air into the burning lungs. As in the fog he watched as In-Ho was removed from his stomach again, wiping his lips with his knuckles and before he repeated this torture, Gi-Hun himself took a deep breath and through tears cried out with all one’s might the first thing that came to his mind.
“Totally agree, that's enough!", In-Ho agreed unexpectedly easily, lowering both of his palms on his stomach, without any intention of tickling again, but still making Gi-Hun to flinch with a loud sob, as if from another electric shock, "I see that you are tired, my little ticklish kitten"
“Stop ihit", Gi-Hun howled, with a residual laugh and covered In-Ho's palms with his own.
“Breathe Out! Now you need to sleep to tell me tomorrow how our little experiment went, okay?”
But Gi-Hun couldn't answer anything, just nodded tiredly, levelling his breathing, till the moment when he started to sink into a long calm sleep, full of beautiful cozy dreams, without a single nightmare.
BROOOOOOO THIS FIC WAS SO GOODHSIEKFJISKRISF AAAHHHH
“Oh, THAT’S how were ticklish, right?” SENT ME IN THE BIGEST LEE MOOD YOU HAVE NO IDEA ABDJSKFK
the way In-ho was teasing Gi-hun AAAAHHHHHH you did AMAZING WITH THIS FIC!!!! I’m so glad I scavenged for your recent fics cause I MISSED reading such banger fics from you Hyperfix!!!! Aaaahhh LOVEEEEEE
Also, the massage trope I LOVE!!!! You could make tens of hundreds of the same trope with different story lines, and I’d be here eating all of the RIGHT up!!! I never get tired of the trope!!!
OMG, SATURN YOU’RE BOOSTING MY MOOD SOOO MUCH EVERY TIME WITH NO EXCEPTIONS❣️🥹🥹
I wanna tattoo all the kindest words and compliments which I have ever gotten from you on my forehead or at least eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner… (cuteness aggression panic moment aah)
A/N: soooooooo, I heard it was someone’s BIRTHDAYYYYYY!!!! Woo woo HAPPY BIRTHDAY @letupabit everyone wish her a happy birthday, she deserves it!! :DD this fic may be short, and might not make sense because I lowkey forgot how they act 100% in the series, but I’m trying 😭🙏 (I’m hoping the title isn’t too.. awkward?? It seemed right but I might change it 😭)
Updated A/N: sooooo, it’s way past your birthday, but I still wanted to gift you a little Drabble of your favorite characters cause you DESERVE ITTTT!!! I hope your birthday went well, and that you felt all love that you certainly deserve to receive!!
Anyways, enjoy a little birthday gift from me!! 🎂🎊 🎁
It was a normal day in the dorms. Of course, after it being the first two games, everyone was pumped up for whatever threw at them next. No one in distress, or hinting to themselves that they want to annihilate everyone and anything that appeared in their path.
Oh.. well, at least that’s what Thanos was thinking. Yeah, he may want to punt Myung-gi into that glass pig up on the ceiling with every chance he can get ever since the guy ripped him off some money, leaving Thanos utterly in debt. He can only get enough, is what Thanos could guess.
As much as he wants to kill him, rid him of existence, there was still that tiny hope that maybe he could just.. toy with him. Embarrass him. Humiliate his entire reputation and strip him off his name- MG coin. (To Thanos, that is)
He saw Myung-Gi walk to his bed to lay in for a little while to pass the time, so he took this perfect opportunity to walk himself over there.
“Hey! MG-coin, what’s up my brotha?” He happily greeted with what looked to be an innocent smile, as if he didn’t want to throw him against a wall and torture him for every wrong doing the poor sad man has rid off Thanos’ name of.
“Leave me alone.” Is all the response he got from the stubborn little brat. Thanos was already ticked off by his rude tone.
“Oooh, someone’s getting cocky, aren’t they?” He asked, getting closer and closer to his target like he was prey.
“I just want to be by myself.” Myung-gi admitted sheepishly. He wore his head down as if all his pride was sucked out of him. Thanos couldn’t care any less, however.
“Oh, but is that really true? I mean, we’re friends right?” He started poking Myung-gi. It startled the man evidently.
The feeling was subtle, but he could still feel the overwhelming intent to them on his side. This wasn’t knew to Myung-gi, but he was sure surprised that Thanos decided to choose this humiliating route than any normal.. “sane” maniac would approach with.
However, he held his laughter in, as his throat wanted to betray him and release his built up giggles. He wasn’t going to let some purple minion who only cared about the past ruin his reputation. Or so he thought at least?
“W-we’re nohot friends..” struggling, he managed to word out some words.
“Oh? We’re not friends?! Well now I’m hurt, MG coin!” He then darted for his ribs with force, causing the younger to blurt out a jar of wavering giggles.
“Fuhuhuck ohohoff!” He yelled. But the words weren’t getting through Thanos, as he kept on playing him like a guitar.
“Hmm? Nah. I don’t think so. I wanna have some fun, don’t you?” Thanos asked in the most innocent tone he could ever imagine. It didn’t suit Thanos at all. It had sinister intent to it.
“NohoOHOHO! Leheheave mehehe ahaha- ALONE!” Myung-Gi begged and begged, but unfortunately, Thanos seemed like he had the intent of keeping this going all day. Myung-Gi didn’t like the thought of that.
It took me a week (TOO MUCH TIME AGAIN UGH 💀) to read it but YAAAAS, BRO, TO READ AND TO REBLOG YOUR FIC, (CAUSE HOW CAN I NOT DO THAT EVEN IF A BELATEDLY), FEELS SOOOO NICE 🥹🥹
This was the Nam Gyu x Thanos platonic fic that was suggested by the mAgIcAl PoLl.
Let me know if you'd like a part two!!
I really hope you guys enjoy this.
Fandom: Squid Game
Summary: Nam-Gyu needs to relax before a show, but Thanos is just an asshole.
"I just can't get over these nerves man", Nam-Gyu muttered, leaning to the left a bit to get around a sharp corner.
Thanos and Nam-Gyu were playing MarioKart in Nam-Gyu's apartment. They were winding down before the big event. In two hours they would catch a train to Seoul, get prepped by their crew and get right out on stage. Thanos with his raps and Nam-Gyu accompanying him with that flawless breakdancing.
"I know ma boi, you keep fucking saying that. Shut up about your nerves, jeez".
Wow, Thanos sure was a good friend wasn't he? Well Nam-Gyu was just as bad.
"Why aren't you nervous though? Remember...hehehe....remember that time when you fucked up your lyr-"
Thanos grabbed the scruff of his collar, "Oy! Don't you dare go there man!"
Nam-Gyu just lifted his arms up and cackled, "Okay, okay, I surrender. Shibal".
Thanos shoved him off, humphing and getting back o concentrating on the screen.
"You know, I used to get stage fright when I started out", Thanos mentioned casually. Nam-Gyu giggled at the sincerity.
"Sure you did"
"No, I'm serious! And you know what really helped?"
Nam-Gyu tilted his head to the side, pausing the game, "Is this a trick question?"
Thanos just smirked at him - "Getting stoned"
Nam-Gyu shoved him, "Oh fuck you"
Now it was Thanos giggling like a schoolkid, "Okay, okay, wanna check the Internet?"
"For what?"
"I dunno, strategies or some shit".
The black-haired one pondered that for a moment. He reflexively felt himself singing "Strategy" from Kpop Demonhunters under his breath.
"You mean for my nerves?"
"No, for your dancing. Of course I meant for your nerves dumbass!"
Nam-Gyu wipped his phone out of his pocket, "Sure, I'll try WikiHow or some shit".
"WikiHow? Those bastards told me that if I touched a doorknob I would get taller".
"Okay, firstly, your tall already. Secondly, the fact that you fell for that says more about you than it does about the website".
Thanos just shrugged. He reached into his pocket to grab a bit of caffine gum (it was his new substitute for drugs).
Nam-Gyu stuck his tongue out (he always did that when he was concentrating. Thanos found it hilarious. And cute).
"Alright, here's what's on WikiHow for stage fright - Practice, well, bit late for that now"
"And we've practiced heaps", Thanos interjected, his voice sounding a bit muffled from the chewing.
"It also says deep breathing, tea, singing-"
"Well you already ticked that box"
"Die". Nam-Gyu rolled his eyes and kept scrolling.
"Cookies, workout, laughing..."
Thanos jolted up from where he was sitting on the couch, "Laughing!?"
Nam-Gyu eyed him suspiciously, "What?"
The black-haired man just watched as a wicked smirk took over Thanos' features. What was he-oh. Nam-Gyu felt his heart beat speed up a bit, scooting to the side of the couch (trapping himself?!)
"Oh no, no that..."
Thanos crawled up to him, wiggling his fingers with a smirk.
Nam-Gyu just hiccupped, "N-no! Don't you fucking dare man!"
Just a few weeks ago, Thanos had found out something rather interesting about Nam-Gyu, and he'd been waiting for an appropriate opportunity to exploit it. Well, an appropriate second opportunity. He'd already exploited it when he'd first discovered it. And he had been high, so he was ruthless.
Even though Thanos was sober now, Nam-Gyu was still afraid. Maybe even more so, because the man looked VERY determined, and had the look on his face of a person who was about to tear another person apart, brick by brick if you will.
"Hey, it's not me that suggested it man. It was WikiHow-"
Just than, Nam-Gyu felt fingers aggressively tazering his sides. He spat out a laugh before bursting into giggles, twisting and turning beneath the stronger man and kicking as much as his legs could manage.
"Nohohoho! Ahahaha! Yohohohou asshohohohole!"
"Hey, quit trying to escape. Haha! Oh my god, seriously, calm down man!"
Thanos squished at Nam-Gyu's sides with all ten fingers, putting pressure into each one. Damn, he was good at this. Just when Nam-Gyu had thought he could get used to one technique, or at least cope with it, the rapper switched spots, or moved his fingers slightly faster of slower.
"Nohoho! Stohohohop!"
Thanos whined, putting on puppy dog eyes, "But I'm just getting started-"
"Plehehehease!!"
The rapper just rolled his eyes, withdrawing his hands.
"Hey man, your no fun".
Nam-Gyu sat up and panted a bit. Damn, he was feeling dizzy. He was also quite shocked that Thanos had actually showed him mercy. He had fully excepted the tickles to keep going. He thought he might have just laughed himself into oblivion, like last time. But sober Thanos actually showed respect for his bodily autonomy. (Actually, maybe high Thanos had too. He'd never actually asked the man to stop because he didn't think it would change anything. Perhaps it would have).
Still, Nam-Gyu was pissed. He HATED being tickled. It made him look and feel weak and helpless. He lost control over his body.
Well, he usually hated it anyway. Today that loss of control actually wasn't so bad. It did make him less nervous. So WikiHow was right?
Never mind that, the man was angry. And he would get his revenge. He doubted that someone as cocky and confident as Thanos would be ticklish, (and he knew the man would just raise his eyebrow at him if he tried, make fun of him and than never let him hear the end of it), so he had to find another way to get that bastard back.
And than it hit him. Out of complete nowhere, Nam-Gyu pounced like a lion, making Thanos fall backward on the couch. The rapper squealed, but was still smiling, clearly cocky.
"What was that for man?", he asked, giggling as Nam-Gyu gently pinched his cheek.
Said man just raised his eyebrows, before darting his arm into Thanos' pocket and grabbing - his phone. That made Thanos' confident demeanor evaporate instantly.
His eyes widened in fear as he tried to push Nam-Gyu off and grab the sacred instrument, but that bitch was holding it out of his reach.
"Oooo, who should I send a text to on your behalf?", Nam-Gyu teased.
"Give me back my phone I'm fucking serious!", Thanos snapped, but it sounded a lot more menacing in the rapper's head.
"Ooo, maybe I could check your search history-"
Nam-Gyu was thoroughly enjoying himself. Thanos kept desperately reaching out for that phone. Oh, wait. There were far better things he could be doing with his hands.
He squeezed Nam-Gyu's sides, making him scream and jolt. In the second the man was disarmed, Thanos managed to push him off and snatch his phone back. He than jumped off the couch for good measure.
"What the hell mah boi?"
Thanos was clearly highly irritated.
"I will break your legs before you can even set foot on that stage"
Nam-Gyu just shrugged at the half-assed threat, "And that would ruin the show, which would be bad for both of us. Why would you sabotage your own performance? Hehe, intentionally I mean."
Thanos' eyes widened in fury, "Okay, that's it!"
He jumped on top of Nam-Gyu and reached his fingers under his arms. The black-haired man reacted instantly, pressing them to his sides as he screeched.
"I tried playing nice", Thanos commented, continuing to wiggle his fingers despite his friend/victim's attempts to block them, "But you just HAD to go too far, didn't you?"
Well, the rapper was being partly serious. Partly. I mean, would it have ruined his day if he'd have actually gone through with his plan and looked at his search history and sent it to Min-Su or some shit? Probably. But would he forgive him for it after. Well, also probably. And he had to admit to himself that that had been a genius move.
Serves me right for tickling him, Thanos thought to himself.
"Ahahah, pleehehease!", Nam-Gyu begged, trying to roll over to further trap Thanos' hand.
That made Thanos switch from wiggling fingers to pokes, leading to another ungodly screech from his best friend.
"Please what?-"
"Nohohoho!" Nam-Gyu snorted, which made Thanos's cheeks go red with laughter and endearment.
"Ihiihihit's not fuhuhuuhunny!"
Thanos just guffawed at Nam-Gyu's audacity, "Than why are you laughing hmm?"
Damn, Thanos had said that in such a chill voice. It was almost as if he wasn't tickling his friend to pieces.
But oh, he definitely was, and Nam-Gyu felt every second of it. Each wave of Thanos' fingers sent ticklish shocks through his entire body. His underarms were a particularly bad spot, and he couldn't remember them ever being attacked so ruthlessly. All he could do was just surrender and laugh, his pride gone completely out the window.
Thanos just watched the man struggle below him, his face red as a tomato, laughter almost gone silent.
"Do you want me to stop?"
No response. Huh.
That just made Thanos beam, "Holy shit. WikiHow was right. You really are benefiting from this, huh".
Nam-Gyu still couldn't say anything.
"Aww, what's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Well maybe this will make you say something-"
Thanos switched to Nam-Gyu's hips, kneading them delicately.
Thanos stopped and cackled, "There it is. You said something. Your hips are a particularly bad spot, huh Nam-Gyu?"
Said man still felt a buzzing in his hips. That was a terrible experience. And Nam-Gyu was cursing himself for not asking Thanos to stop earlier. Why hadn't he? He hated it. It was humiliating. It made him furious. There was no chance in a gazzilion years that he enjoyed it.
But Nam-Gyu still couldn't ask Thanos if he was ticklish. That was too embarrassing. Because of course he wasn't.
That was when they both heard a beep on their phones.
Thanos sighed, "We gotta leave now if we want to catch the train".
I can’t believe the day when I was waiting when it’ll end and I will be able to read NEW FULL LENGTH FIC from my bro was that long that in the end I forgot about what I was dreaming about for hours and hours…. 💀
Thanks my two-day rereading marathon for me and this fic found each other, CAUSE SOBER BUT (STILL EVIL, BUT NOT REALLY) THANOS? AND NAM-GYU WORKING TOGETHER, CAUSE NAM-GYU IS HIS BREAKDANCER?!
Wrap this up for me, please, cause I’m taking it with me to put it on my shelf of the things with the major viiiiibe!!! 🙏🙏
A/N: I've said this on like, three separate fics, but THIS is truly the longest one. It's just under 10k LMAO. I hope y'all have time to spare if you're kind enough to read this :') I wanted to challenge myself and write a scene that 99% wouldn't happen in canon whilst keeping the characters accurate, and honestly I really really enjoyed it! I like to think they're not totally mischaracterised because these characters are my babies auughhhhh.
Also it's my birthday! My first fic being 22 years old omg...dare i say it's a bit of a birthday gift to myself hehehe.
I will preemptively say, Myung-gi has a panic attack in this and I tried to write it as accurate as possible, if that kinda thing triggers you then here's your warning :) I've had my fair share so I hope I wrote the scene somewhat accurately!
Summary: Myung-gi has an anxiety attack and can't calm himself down no matter what he tries. Luckily, his 'bestest friends in the whole wide world' are there to help! But not until he asks for it ;)
It had been a day since Thanos and Nam-gyu had last destroyed Myung-gi with…well, whatever that was. Myung-gi had far too much pride to admit first-hand the details, but the most important thing was that they’d seemed to have gotten it out of their system. Maybe he was free now. Not having to stress about fingers in his sides or Thanos’ stupid face in his belly.
God, it was so embarrassing. He was a grown man, for gods sake! Once a highly respected crypto trader with a successful YouTube channel watched by millions, and now reduced to some kind of chew toy for a psychopath rapper and his psychopath friend.
‘At least they aren’t hurting me’ he thought to himself whilst in line for whatever sad rations the guards were generously giving out today. ‘That’s something, right?’
-------------------
He sat at his bunk, the two tormentors luckily far away from him- on the other side of the dorm, focused on whatever the fuck people like them were interested in.
They weren’t irritating him anymore; Which was a bonus- He’d had quite enough of them for at least a year. If he ever got out of here alive, he’d make sure to do whatever it took to block out the memory of them looming over him, chuckling and wiggling their fingers. Thanos had to have social media, right? Being so famous? Well, first things first, he’d be blocked on everything. He’d no doubt come looking for ‘his’ money and Myung-gi didn’t think he could bear interacting with either of those idiots outside the games, where there were no guards or cameras or ‘rules’.
He watched as Thanos and Nam-gyu laughed about something on the steps opposite, chatting away with smiles on their faces, probably high out their minds. Every so often Thanos made some stupid DJ motion and Nam-gyu would bop his head like the action was actually producing sound. For once, in what felt like forever, they weren’t even looking at him.
Whatever though. Why would he care about those psychopaths? It wasn’t like he was part of their fucked-up team. All they’d left him with was the ache in his ribs, the soreness of his throat from laughing so hard- it ultimately didn’t matter.
No, he couldn’t care less about them. As long as they weren’t pestering him he was absolutely fine with the space- they could laugh and giggle about whatever the fuck they wanted to, they could stumble around like morons, It had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
However… he felt a strange, unfamiliar coil in his chest.
Lee Myung-gi was used to being alone. He’d been on the run for 6 months after Dalmatian fell through, deleted all his contacts and essentially dropped off the face of the Earth (even Jun-hee had said she thought he died), so spending time with his own thoughts was nothing new.
But this was different. He wasn’t sure what to name this feeling, this coil that continued to tighten behind his sternum. Fear, maybe? No, he’d felt that in the death games and this certainly wasn’t fear. Anger? Maybe a bit, but it still didn’t feel like the correct word.
It hit him suddenly as his skin prickled and his breathing shallowed- this wasn’t fear, or anger, or even standard stress- this was anxiety.
And it was setting hard.
Within seconds he felt dizzy, his skin feeling two sizes too small. His hands shook and he rubbed at his chest with the heel of his palm, trying to regulate his rapidly-quickening breathing. He wrung his hands between each other, tugging at his fingers and then squeezing them together in an attempt to snap himself out of it. What the hell was wrong with him? He was fine a few minutes ago, how could he be spiralling so hard and so severely now?
There was no danger around. In a way, the dorm was actually quite peaceful right now- no shouting or fighting or druggies breathing down his neck.
But no matter how hard he tried to rationalise it, how hard he tried to force his traitorous brain into understanding, the anxiety grew and grew until it overshadowed any other thought. Suddenly, the dorm didn’t seem as peaceful. Suddenly, his senses were highly aware of every mumble and cough and shuffle.
He just had to get somewhere private. The bathrooms were usually fairly quiet around this time- that was his best bet right now. He could ride it out in there until whatever the fuck was happening to him passed. Yeah, that sounded good.
His legs shook as he swung them off his bunk. The floor looked like it was coming toward him, and when he raised his head he could hardly make out the bunks on the other side of the dorm from how much his vision swam.
Myung-gi crossed his arms firmly across his chest, squeezing himself tight in an effort to self-soothe. He could hardly think straight, cold sweat sticking his player uniform to his frame. ‘Just one step at a time’ he thought.
‘This won’t last forever. Just one step at a time’
-----------------------------------
He stumbled into the (thankfully empty) bathroom, trying to take a full breath as he approached the sink and splashed himself with cold water. The icy shock made him gasp and he braced himself on the ceramic, attempting to focus on the droplets running down the bridge of his nose and cheekbones.
It helped for maybe half a second before the anxiety barrelled right back. Myung-gi scrubbed at his face with both hands, shoulders shaking like his skeleton was trying to break free. He pushed his palms down hard and patterns bloomed behind his eyelids.
A low groan escaped him and he shook out his wrists, bounced on his heels for a second, started pacing up and down. His mind wouldn’t shut up, forcing images of him being mowed down in the next game, or worse- Jun-hee, pregnant with his child and only here because of him, being shot by a guard.
What if the next game was something he couldn’t win? What if it was luck-based opposed to skill? Or something like the pentathlon where he had to rely on a team? Maybe something to do with brute strength? He wouldn’t be able to win against one of the burlier players- he wasn’t exactly weak himself, but there was always a bigger fish.
Thought after thought raced through his head at breakneck speed, never giving him a chance to figure out a solution of one potential issue before hitting him with a scarier, less-solvable potential issue.
The last time he’d felt pure animal anxiety like this was when Dalmatian crashed, and even then at least he had the relief of other options. What options did he have in here? There was no escape, no backing out or taking a break. The next game was coming and he would have to participate.
‘Fuck, fuck, fuck…’ he muttered as he ran his hands through his hair. He must’ve paced the length of the bathroom at least a dozen times by now, must’ve done the whole ‘what can you see, touch, hear’ routine fifty. Nothing was working.
Nothing was fucking wor-
‘Well shit, MG coin’
His heart dropped. No. No no no.
How did they always know where to find him?
He was back at the sink now, grasping the sides and near-hyperventilating. He couldn’t move. Not even when he heard footsteps approaching.
‘Oi. You deaf now or what?’ Thanos.
‘Speak when you’re spoken to, MG coin’ Nam-gyu.
He couldn’t. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything but take in shuddering gasps. The anxiety attack was at its peak now. All he could think of was the paralysing fear of standing at the opposite end of a Guard’s gun.
He hardly even noticed when walls of green appeared on either side of him, Thanos and Nam-gyu boxing him in.
‘Coooooiiin’ Came the lazy drawl of Player 230. No response. He snorted and poked Myung-gi roughly on the arm. ‘Anyone home, man?’
‘You need to work on your people skills. What kind of greeting is this?’ Nam-gyu cocked his head. They were both taller than him, especially now that he was hunched over, head between his arms, staring downwards. He couldn’t even register their presence though. Couldn’t register anything right now.
Myung-gi did nothing but shake, holding on white-knuckled to the sink. His breathing was audible, fast and almost painful sounding. The two bullies looked at him, and then at each other, and then at him again.
There was a beat of silence. Thanos poked him a second time, harder. No response but more strained breathing. More trembling.
Thanos looked over Myung-gi’s head at Nam-gyu and made a face- a sort of furrowed brow, unsure expression that Nam-gyu just narrowed his eyes at, as if to say ‘The fuck is up with him?’.
‘You think he’s having a stroke or something?’
Thanos scoffed.
‘The fuck is your problem, coin?’
Nam-gyu snorted and he gave a half-smirk, like he couldn’t quite believe the audacity of Myung-gi to just…block them out.
He used a heavy hand to nudge MG’s shoulder, who didn’t budge given that he had such a chokehold on the pedestal in front of him. ‘Why are you being so boring? I swear, stop ignoring us or I’ll slap you out of it’
He was expecting a nasty response right back, some kind of flippant ‘Get lost’. But there was nothing. No comment, no biting remark, not even a dirty look.
Nam-gyu hovered uncertainly for a few seconds. The way Myung-gi was just…standing there, quivering and breathing heavy and being totally unresponsive was becoming unsettling.
‘Hey. Prick’
Still nothing.
‘MG coin’ Thanos crossed his ankles and leant on the wall. ‘You’re freakin’ us out, man’
Myung-gi broke his silent streak with a noise between a cough and a sob. 230 and 124’s heads snapped up to meet each other’s gaze. Both men, for once, were speechless. A small smirk was on Thanos’ face but it seemed more bafflement than cruelty. Nam-gyu fiddled with a loose hair, brushing it behind his ears and tilting his head down at the conman, completely unaware.
‘Are you...crying?’ He sounded like he was trying not to laugh. ‘Is that was this?’
‘He is! Boy’s fucking crying!’ Thanos’ face was that of a man in sheer disbelief. He brought a hand up to the collar of his player jacket, pulling it up over his mouth to hide a shocked grin. It wasn’t for Myung-gi’s benefit- the man wasn’t even looking at him. Thanos could be breakdancing behind him and he’d be none the wiser, staring his scammy eyes into the sink. It was more out of complete incredulity that MG coin was standing here, crying, alone in the bathroom.
Oh, how he’d have loved to have seen him like this when dalmatian had first went to shit. It wouldn’t have gotten his Won back, but it would’ve made him feel just a bit better to see the scammer crying into his shirt, all alone. Hell, he’d probably have paid what little won he had left to experience it.
Nam-gyu was grinning broadly, looking MG up and down, nudging his shoulder against 333 in a faux good-natured display. ‘C’mon then, the amazing Myung-gi of MG coin! What’s got you bawling like a baby, huh?’
The bathroom filled with nasty laughter, Thanos and Nam-gyu chuckling and cackling. When it died down, replaced by small after-giggles, they were expecting Myung-gi to have gotten himself together. For their taunting to have given him a reason to wipe his eyes, stand himself tall, snap out of whatever pathetic depressive episode he was going through.
Constantly bored, both stared down at him with eager eyes, ready for another 2-against-1 (That they were sure to win, knowing his newfound weakness).
But still, nothing. It was getting…weird, now. The atmosphere felt fuzzy, almost unnatural, which was saying something in a place like this. The bathroom was quiet, save for the ragged breathing of Myung-gi. They hated the unresponsiveness, hated not getting a rise out of him.
Thanos glared at Nam-gyu, making an obnoxious tut noise. Nam-gyu shrugged back at him. Myung-gi was supposed to be spitting venom at them, shouting and embarrassing himself like usual. The fuck was going on?
The purple-haired man cast his gaze down at Myung-gi, his face painted in that exaggerated sneering look he wore so well. He very slowly bent his knees, bracing his hands on them and tilting his head upwards to see the scammer’s face. He could see the dissociation clear as day. The absent, wide-eyed staring at nothing.
His eyebrows raised as he stood himself back upright, slow as he had when he’d bent down. He met Nam-gyu’s gaze. Player 124 narrowed his eyes further.
Curious, he dropped into a semi-crouch, bracing himself on his knees similarly to how Thanos had done before straightening up and barking out a delighted laugh.
‘Holy shit! What’s wrong with his face? He looks like he’s seen a ghost’
A shuddering gasp wracked Myung-gi’s frame.
‘…Don’t feel good…’
His voice came out barely audible, small and wavering. Neither 230 or 124 had actually heard the words- just that he’d said something.
Thanos was standing with his arms crossed now, head cocked to the side, not taking his eyes off the younger man. ‘Wassat, MG coin?’ he lilted, grin widening.
‘I DON’T FEEL GOOD!’
The words came out so loud and sharp that Nam-gyu and Thanos visibly jumped, Nam-gyu taking a reflexive step back, Thanos’ shoulders jolting as he flinched hard. Their grins dropped.
‘I don’t- I don’t fucking know what’s wrong!’ Myung-gi was still grasping the sink but now jolting his head back and forth between the two, who just stared wide-eyed. He was looking through them, still deep in the anxiety-induced dissociation. ‘I can’t fucking breathe and- and everything’s just- AGH!’
He pushed away from the sink and his hands flew to his hair, running through it again and again in frantic bursts. He wanted to cry but no tears came, despite his voice cracking. His feet moved without purpose, pacing a few feet before spinning back and doing it all again. ‘Fuck fuck FUCK!’
Thanos’ eyes followed as he paced, ringed fingers twiddling at his zip. Nam-gyu was thumbing awkwardly at his bottom lip, trying to look busy. Neither knew what to do, what to say. Seeing Myung-gi genuinely distressed, sweating and shaking like he was going through withdrawals, voice cracking and scrubbing at his face, was something they weren’t prepared for. He was usually so calm and composed. Seeing him lose his absolute shit for real?
It wasn’t fun. Wasn’t satisfying or scratching any kind of itch for them. It wasn’t the entertaining irritation or anger that they usually invoked in him. Right now he wasn’t MG coin, successful youtuber and witty con artist- he was just a man having a human moment.
Myung-gi made a choked keening noise from the back of his throat like he was trying to expel his anxiety through noise alone and continued pacing. Up, down, up, down. Neither of the druggies looked away, morbidly transfixed.
Thanos, despite what many may have thought, was actually rather emotionally intelligent. Manipulative, sure, but if anything that just proved the fact; he wouldn’t be able to play into other’s thoughts and feelings if he was as dumb as a rock.
He may have not been in touch with his own emotions, being high out of his mind most of the time, but that was a conscious choice. Making it into fame didn’t come without his own spirals, dependencies, forced to learn how to calm down jittery backup dancers or even the occasional rival (if he thought they weren’t much of a threat, that is). This, on top of dealing with drunken breakdowns or bad drug experiences over the years, had developed him a sharpened set of skills.
A set of skills that begrudgingly, he’d have to break out right there in the bathroom. For a man he couldn’t stand.
The ex-rapper exhaled through his nose and lolled his head back, eyes closing like he was about to take on a strenuous chore. He waited for Myung-gi to hit the pedestal, turn back and pace those few same feet, and stepped himself into his path. As soon as Myung-gi turned back around, still mumbling rapidly to himself with his palms over his face, Thanos was right there in front of him.
‘I’m going to die, I’m going to fucking die- What have I done, oh my g- Ah!’ Myung-gi gasped suddenly, pacing forced to come to a halt. His hands flew down and he looked up with huge, terrified eyes.
Two hands had grabbed him firmly by the shoulders. The touch was unexpected, not gentle but not rough either- just absolute.
The height difference between him and Thanos was pretty significant and he had to tilt his head upwards when the purple-haired man started talking.
‘MG coin’ Thanos spoke slowly, clearly, face devoid of any usual mischief. He dropped his head and held Myung-gi’s gaze and squeezed his fingers just once, forcing his attention. ‘You’re freaking out man. Freaking us out, freaking yourself out. You gotta breathe, boy’ He could feel the youtuber trembling, the tremors running through his hands.
Nam-gyu hadn’t said a word, hand still hovering by his lips, darting his focus between both men. Usually he’d scoff at something like this, especially with Lee Myung-gi involved. But for once he was on the side of…well, not empathy. He didn’t really do empathy.
Something vaguely similar, perhaps.
Regardless, he trusted Thanos knew what he was doing and shit would go back to normal. (as normal as things could be, anyway).
‘You don’t get it- you don’t fucking get it’ Myung-gi placed his palms flat on Thanos’ chest and pushed him away; Thanos simply wrapped a hand round his wrist and pulled him back, resuming his hold on his shoulders with a ‘Ah-ah, get back here’.
‘Fucking LET GO OF ME!’ The younger man cried, trying to push him away again but Thanos had him in an unbreakable grip now. ‘How the fuck would you know anything? I’ve seen you’ he shot a glare toward Nam-gyu, ‘and you!’ he directed himself back toward Thanos, ‘popping those fucking pills. Yeah, you’re not slick. Everyone here knows you’re nothing but washed-up junkie FREAKS!’
Thanos would be lying if he said he wanted to do anything else but throw Myung-gi to the floor and let loose on him right then. Those words cut deep. He’d heard similar after the forgotten lyrics incident during rap battlegrounds, fans and haters alike blaming his fumble on drug use.
But he was no stranger to anxiety attacks, those horrible chest-tightening things that fogged the brain and reduced a person to their most primal survival instincts. Myung-gi didn’t know what he was saying, not really. He was just functioning on autopilot, brain trying to stabilise itself any way it knew how.
‘You’re lucky I’m an understanding typ’a guy, Coin’ he said, words still slow and enunciated like he were talking to a child. ‘That shit you just said? Man, if you weren’t such a mess right now, that’d really have pissed me off’
Nam-gyu held his breath. Thanos wasn’t about to lose his temper, surely? Not right now? Not that he’d mind, if anything it’d be entertaining, but still…
But his concerns were for nothing as Thanos continued with ‘We ain’t gonna get you better if you don’t work with me’
He spoke with such rare sincerity that Myung-gi stopped pushing, hands just resting on Thanos’ chest. It was more the confusion, than anything else. Intrigue, perhaps. Despite the spiralling, even his anxiety-riddled brain realised that Thanos was genuinely trying to help him…and that was weird.
Thanos didn’t give him any chance to dwell. He had his attention and he was going to use it before Myung-gi fucked himself up again.
‘Just breathe, okay? We’ll start there’
Myung-gi decided not to care about the unusualness of Thanos comforting him, so desperate for comfort he’d take anything. If it turned out to be a cruel joke then…well, that’d be a bridge he could cross if he came to it.
A harsh squeeze brought him back to reality.
‘Oi, Coin-boy. I said breathe’
‘I-I don’t know how’
Behind them, Nam-gyu huffed a small chuckle and approached, standing by their sides.
‘Course you know how to breathe, MG coin. How the fuck are you still standing here if you’re not breathing? You’d be dead, dumbass’. He spoke with a light-hearted tone, trying his best to be somewhat ‘gentle’, but poor Myung-gi, who was still shaking and chest heaving, just heard the word ‘dead’ and- ohhh no.
His face crumpled and his hands left Thanos’ chest, grasping at his own, breathing coming out faster and shallower. ‘Oh fuck- fuck, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna fucking die-’
Nam-gyu flinched and jumped back, Myung-gi practically dissolving in Thanos’ grip.
Thanos groaned and tossed his head back.
‘Ugghhhh, Nam-su! Why’d you have to go and set him off again?’
‘Sorry, sorry! Uh-’ He brought a hesitant hand to the panicked player’s back and patted it awkwardly, utterly unused to comforting people, nevermind a guy he hated the guts of. ‘Sorry, coin. Just- just calm down, okay?’
Myung-gi was doing anything but.
‘Let go- let go of me, I have to get out of here’
Thanos could hardly keep hold of the man as he writhed and shoved without purpose, gasping. ‘Woah, woah! MG coin!’
‘You’re gonna be fine, idiot! What’s it gonna take to chill you out?’ Nam-gyu had his hands raised like he wanted to shake the scammer out of it but something told him brute force wouldn’t be too helpful in this situation.
‘Yeah, boy! You’ve survived so far, right? You’re a smart motherfucker, whatever the next game is, you’ll figure it out!’
Never in a million years did Thanos and Nam-gyu think they’d be hyping up MG coin. It was surreal and so out of the ordinary it almost dissolved the panic attack right then and there.
Myung-gi desperately grabbed Thanos’ forearms. ‘You think so? You think I’m gonna be fine?’
The older man hesitated. He could break this off right now, push him away with a ‘just get yourself together’ and walk off. Back to his corner, where it was just him and his Nam-su. Where they could resume zoning out and giggling at nothing.
But Myung-gi was looking at him with such a desperate, expectant fear, like he was the only other person who existed.
Ah, fuck it. He’d already started this, why the hell not finish it?
He forced his face to soften just a little and breathed out slowly, like he was trying to rationalise just what he was about to do. ‘Yeah. Yeah, MG coin. You’re gonna be just peachy’. He gave Myung-gi’s shoulders a little rub, even forcing a smile.
‘What if- what if I’m not, though?’
Nam-gyu grinned, sensing the tension erode from Myung-gi. ‘Then you won’t be. But what’s the point in worrying about that right now, huh? What is it they say…’ he thought for a second before it came to him and he bounced on his heels, gesturing with his hands. ‘Ah! Worrying about something just means you suffer through it twice! Right?’
It…wasn’t the best advice. Maybe if it had been in a different scenario, like Myung-gi stressing about a first date or issues with his channel, it would’ve landed better. Made more sense.
But Myung-gi didn’t care. The comfort, no matter how half-assed, was still comfort.
‘Let’s try again with that breathin’, boy. Come on, follow my lead. We’ll do it together- in through the nose, out through the mouth, yeah?’.
Thanos took a deep breath in through his nose, chest expanding, and felt relief that Myung-gi did the same. They exhaled together, and the older man could feel the younger relax his shoulders, the anxiety ebbing away slowly. It was still there- some basic breathing exercises weren’t going to eradicate it completely. But at least it seemed to be helping.
They stood like that for a few more seconds, Thanos tracking Myung-gi’s face to check for any signs of the spiral getting worse. Nam-gyu had tried to join in, more because it’d be awkward if he just stood there staring at two men breathing at each other, but the boredom and ridiculousness of the situation got the better of him.
He started to breathe purposefully loudly, In through the nose with an obnoxious sniff, out through the mouth with an even more obnoxious ‘Haaaaah’. Couldn’t that bastard be serious for more than thirty seconds?
‘Nam-su. Cut it out’
‘I’m helping’
‘What, with Mongolian throat singing?’ Thanos, still giving small absent-minded pats to Myung-gi’s shoulders, tilted his head to face Nam-gyu. ‘Heheh, you sound like an old man on life support, bro’
‘It’s the least I can do, really’
‘Or like one of them dogs with the squashed faces’
‘A bulldog?’
‘Nah nah, the other one. Looks like someone dropped mashed potato on the floor’
‘A Labrador?’
Thanos made a face and his shoulders shook. ‘Dunno what kinda fuckin’ Labradors you’ve been lookin’ at, boy’
MG coin listened to them go back and forth like he wasn’t even there. Annoyingly (or, maybe not), having some kind of normalcy was helping. Maybe he could pretend he was in a bar overhearing two idiots. Or a sports game, not that he ever really went to those. Or maybe even another universe completely. He wouldn’t be surprised if those two were aliens from the planet ‘ruin MG coin’s life’.
‘Oi, coin. Y’listening?’
Myung-gi blinked. ‘Huh?’
‘I asked if you were feelin’ better. Don’t wanna be babysittin’ your scamming ass til the next game, boy’
Player 333 thought about it. He was still shaky, still experiencing palpitations that just wouldn’t seem to quit. It wasn’t anywhere near as bad as before, no way- but he still felt in a considerable amount of distress.
‘I…I don’t know. I don’t think so, not really’
He was expecting groans, or for them to go ‘well, we tried, see ya’ and leave.
Instead, Thanos just rolled his eyes in mild annoyance and nodded. ‘Okay, man. Take your time, I guess’.
Myung-gi was shocked. It seemed like they were really putting effort in here. Or, at least, as much as they were capable of when it came to him.
‘Why are you helping me?’ He asked bluntly, fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket.
‘Dunno, really. I’ve been there’ Thanos shrugged. He was staring with an uncanny level of intensity at Myung-gi. ‘The whole thinkin’ you’re dying thing. Like the walls are closing in, like you’re not ever gonna feel right again. I wish I’d had someone there for me when I got like that. Doesn’t mean we like you or nothin. Just…don’t like seein’ you all fucked up, is all’
It was probably the most genuine, vulnerable thing Myung-gi had ever heard from him.
‘Yeah, and you’re no fun to fuck with if you can’t react to us fucking with you’
Aaaand Nam-gyu ruined it.
‘Great. Thanks, I guess’
‘Anytime, prick’
Myung-gi groaned and shifted in place, shrugging Thanos’ hands off him. ‘Mnngh…feels like my heart’s gonna stop’ he muttered, crossing his arms tightly around his middle and shifting from foot to foot.
Thanos, without a single care for boundaries or personal space, grabbed Myung-gi’s wrist and placed two fingers on the inside, where his pulse hammered.
He held out Myung-gi’s wrist to Player 124, ignoring the ‘ach- hey!’.
Nam-gyu let out a low whistle. ‘Woah, dude. How are you even standing upright? I’m surprised you haven’t dropped dea-’ Myung-gi’s eyes widened and he stared hard at him, skin prickling like the anxiety was about to amp up all over again. Thanos cleared his throat, clenched his jaw and very subtly shook his head, as if to say ‘Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say’.
‘Uh…nevermind’ Wow, good save.
He slapped Myung-gi’s wrist twice and then gave a toothy smile. ‘Still ticking! You’re in perfect health!’
Myung-gi managed to scoff quietly, taking his wrist back and rubbing it. ‘I just…I think I need a distraction’.
‘A distraction, eh?’ Nam-gyu replied, then pointed at Thanos excitedly. ‘Want Thanos to do a backflip off a urinal? He can, I saw him do it once at the club’
‘Yeah! Watch, coin’ Thanos, without question or argument, was already bouncing over to the urinals.
Myung-gi screwed up his face in a baffled grimace. ‘No-! I- I don’t want to see you do a backflip off a urinal. Jesus Christ’
Thanos made a face. He couldn’t believe anybody wouldn’t want to see that.
‘Wow’ he shoved his hands in his pockets and took long, slow steps. ‘That’s what I get for tryna help, huh? Talk about ungrateful. I’d have fans begging on their knees to see that shit’
‘I’m not your fan’
‘Tch. Yeah. No kidding’
The atmosphere had shifted. Myung-gi was having an actual conversation with these two. A really absurd conversation, sure, but this was probably the longest he’d ever gone without being shoved at or sent into hysterics in their presence.
But still the anxiety refused to budge. He needed an actual, proper distraction. Not Thanos with his acrobatics, or Nam-gyu with his…Nam-gyu-ness.
It hit him suddenly, like a brick to the skull. Oh.
Oh no.
Thanos and Nam-gyu must’ve noticed his defeated demeanour because they went quiet and hovered awkwardly, like they thought he was about to breakdown all over again and were trying their absolute best to be as un-breakdowny as possible.
‘…Wassup, boy?’ Thanos side-eyed him.
‘You’re not gonna cry for real this time, are you? You look like you are’ Nam-gyu leant back like Myung-gi was diseased.
Myung-gi sighed loudly and stared at the floor tiles.
‘…Can you guys…’ he made a face like even thinking about what he was going to say was causing him physical pain.
‘Can us guys…?’ Thanos, still hands in his pockets, leant forward.
‘…tickle me’
Nam-gyu’s jaw actually dropped. Thanos just stared at him, frozen, one foot in front of the other from where he’d been dancing in place.
There was just…silence. For a while. It stretched on so long that Myung-gi started to hope maybe they hadn’t heard him and he could pretend he hadn’t said anything. This was a mistake, surely. An embarrassing, horrid mistake.
‘The fuck did you just say?’ Thanos was starting to process the words that came out of Myung-gi’s mouth, a disbelieving smile tugging at one corner of his lips. Neither junkie took their eyes off the scammer, who was now hiding his face in his hands.
‘I’m not asking again’ he muffled. ‘Either do it or don’t’
Immediately Nam-gyu started to move, face lit up, fingers wiggling playfully. ‘Arms up, MG coin!’
And to his (and possibly the scammer himself) disbelief, Myung-gi actually raised his arms, blushing furiously at the floor.
‘Stop’
Myung-gi blinked and Nam-gyu looked over his shoulder. Thanos took a step closer and rested an arm on the club promoter, who slumped dramatically. ‘Stop? Why? The guy literally asked for it’
‘Oh, I get it’ Myung-gi intercepted before Thanos could explain himself. ‘It’s only fun when I don’t want it, right? Can’t get your kicks if I’m having fun too’ He lowered his arms and pointed at Thanos. ‘You’re a sick freak’
Thanos held up his hands. ‘Woah, boy. You’re making us sound like some twisted ol’ perverts’ he resumed leaning on Nam-gyu, one ankle crossed over the other. It was his turn to point now. ‘Ain’t nobody in this damn shithole that would love to see your stupid face freaking out more than us, but I’m just sayin’, man- I dunno how I feel tickling a guy having a panic attack’
He thought back to nights backstage, bad trips from his younger inexperienced days. The anxiety attacks he’d have before his first few big shows. The crushing weight on his chest after the rap battlegrounds incident. The last thing he’d have wanted, or needed, back then was for someone to tickle him.
And if Myung-gi spiralled halfway through, it wouldn’t just be annoying or unsettling. It would be more time spent having to be nice to him.
Nam-gyu piped up, hand splayed toward Myung-gi incredulously.
‘Hyung, he literally asked for it. He’s fine!’
‘Yeah, well, last time the asshole bit me’
‘That’s because you wouldn’t fucking stop!’ came 333’s exasperated reply. ‘I’ll keep my teeth to myself this time, okay?’
Player 230 scratched at his chin and looked Myung-gi up and down. The guy was obviously still not 100%, but after everything- the weirdness of helping him out, the stupid banter between him and Nam-gyu, the forced breathing session- he did seem calmer.
Meanwhile Myung-gi’s brain was almost imploding trying to process the fact that Thanos had the chance to destroy him- him, who was apparently the ‘reason they were there in the first place’, who they very obviously resented- and was hesitating.
‘I mean it. It would help’
Thanos’ thoughtful expression gave way to a cocked eyebrow and a smirk. He held his palms up and loosened his posture, swaying slightly. ‘Aight, aight. Go on then, asshole. Lie down’
‘What…here?’
‘Yes, here. You think we’re gonna do this out there? lettin’ anyone think we’re pals? Go on, get comfy’
Myung-gi examined the tiles. Surprisingly, for a hellhole bathroom, it was surprisingly pristine. He almost laughed at the idea of the masked guards coming in with mops and buckets like committed housewives and scrubbing the place head to toe.
‘Okay’ he sighed, squatting down on the floor, trying not to look at either of the duo as they loomed over him. He hesitantly lay himself down, one arm under his head like he was relaxing in bed and not…this. His cheeks burned and he stared at the fluorescent lights, trying not to regret his decision.
Myung-gi half expected the anxiety to come roaring back at full pelt, but it stayed constant. Not getting worse, definitely not as bad as it was a few minutes ago, but certainly not getting better. The cold of the tiles pressed against his back, lending even more to his shivering. His free hand pressed against his chest and rubbed in firm circles. He hated this feeling. Hated that it ruined his usual collected nature, hated that it led him into this position.
But what other choice did he have? Who else could he go to? Jun-hee? She’d probably spit in his face if she didn’t get her new teammates to escort him away first.
The two junkies dropped next to him. Thanos crouched by his side, arm braced on his knee casually, and Nam-gyu settled behind his head.
He suddenly felt a hand tug at the arm cushioning his skull. His breath caught and he shot up so fast that Thanos almost lost his balance.
‘N-No! Don’t…don’t pin me, okay?’
Nam-gyu looked at Thanos, hands still in mid-air from where he tried to grab Myung-gi.
‘Whatever. Give the scammer what he wants, Nam-su’ He shrugged. It would be more satisfying to just hold him down and go to town but right now he had to be conscious of…ergh, boundaries.
Nam-gyu tsk’d and leant his head on his palm. ‘Fine, fine. If you’re gonna whinge about it MG coin’
Thanos gently pushed Myung-gi back down, more condescension than genuine care. ‘C’mon, back down you go, boy. Let us take care of ya, yeah?’
Myung-gi let himself be lay flat, glaring. ‘Ugh, don’t say it like that’
‘Why not? We’re doing you a favour, right?’ Nam-gyu scooted closer so he was looking directly down at 333, shit-eating grin plastered on his face. ‘Sooo…anywhere you wanna start with, MG?’
Myung-gi flopped an arm over his eyes, jaw setting tight. ‘Erghh, I don’t know…my stomach, I guess’ He purposefully chose a spot he knew wasn’t the absolute worst. He was, embarrassingly, ticklish pretty much everywhere- but he didn’t want to go straight into being annihilated. Thanos and Nam-gyu would absolutely take advantage despite the ‘niceties’, so he had to choose his words carefully.
‘Oh come on, MG coin’ Myung-gi peeked out from under his arm to glare at Nam-gyu. What now?? He’d already thrown his pride in the gutter, were they really going to drag this out any longer?!
‘Choose somewhere else’ 124 nodded toward the youtuber’s lower torso. ‘I can’t reach down there’
‘BUT I CAN!’
Before Myung-gi could process anything further, Thanos had his hands practically buried in his stomach, kneading and squeezing the taut muscle with a manic grin.
‘AH! HEHEHEHEY! I WAHAHAHASN’T- HAHAHahaHA!’
The younger man immediately started kicking and flailing, nerves lit up. Without being held down his limbs had the privilege of thrashing and he reflexively slapped at his tickler- not because he wanted it to stop, but just sheer uncontrollable instinct.
‘Why you getting aggressive, boy? You asked for this’ But Thanos kept tickling, smirk only growing. The slaps didn’t really bother him- if anything it just made the whole thing funnier. As long as the scammer wasn’t freaking out for the wrong reasons, he could do whatever he wanted.
‘FuhuhUHUHUCK!’ Thanos was using two fingers on each hand to pinch lightly on the soft spots of his stomach, which tickled way more than it had any right to. But still, he didn’t say stop.
His back arched off the floor when those pinches turned into deep kneading, fast and precise, legs involuntarily kicking. Thanos was chuckling at how silly it all was, possibly needing this himself even more than Myung-gi.
Nam-gyu did not share the same sentiment.
‘Hey, I want in too’ 124 frowned. ‘MG coin. Lemme tickle you’
He could’ve just started anyway. In fact, on any other day, he absolutely would. He didn’t care about Myung-gi, not really. He’d proved that over the past few ‘sessions’.
Buuuut…the man was fragile right now. Prone to overwhelm. As annoying as it was, and as little as Nam-gyu actually respected the cackling prick below him…he had to tread carefully. Which, disgustingly, meant Myung-gi was the one in control right now. Ugh, he could just vomit at the thought.
Didn’t mean he couldn’t be a huffy asshole about it, though.
‘Myung-gi-ahh’ He said flatly, watching another pitiful slap land on his Hyung’s wrists. He gave MG coin’s shoulder a light poke, once then twice. ‘Don’t you want me to have fun too? Don’t be selfish’
But Myung-gi wasn’t listening.
‘IHIHIHIHIHI! FUHUHUHUCK!’
Thanos was still hunched over, fighting the urge to straddle him and just let loose (ugh, those damn boundaries again), one knee braced on the floor to steady himself.
‘Tickle tickle tickle!’ He sang in a childish, condescending tone. ‘Who’s a ticklish lil’ freak? Is it you? Yeah it is!!’ His fingers snuck under the scammer’s player jacket, changing techniques and now scratching lightly over the thin shirt. His clawed hands moved in circles, like he was petting a dog, nails skimming smoothly.
Myung-gi’s laughter died into light giggles, slaps devolving into just…holding himself around his middle, twitching and tittering. Trying his absolute hardest to restrain himself from shoving the two bullies away.
How on Earth would that have looked? All that fuss and build-up just to lash out and call the whole thing off. Besides…the laughter, the sensation of the tickling itself, was working to distract him. That’s what he’d asked for, right? A distraction?
The urge to get away was purely an unthinking primal reflex- Consciously, for once, he wanted the tickles to keep going.
‘Hehehehe…hehehe! Ahahaha!’ He couldn’t help it- despite Thanos being gentle, it still tickled unbearably in that giddy, skin-crawling kind of way. He rolled away onto his side, only for a hand to grab his shoulder and pull him flat again, instantly diving right back in with barely-there scribbles and scritches.
‘Don’t turn away, man! This is makin’ ya feel better, yeah?’
Myung-gi giggled into his hands, flushing an even darker red, so incredibly flustered he simply didn’t know what to do with himself. He had no idea what to say, how to respond. What the fuck was the procedure?!
He couldn’t exactly curse them out; he didn’t want to risk pissing them off and landing himself in real trouble. Sure, they were helping him now, but he was still acutely aware of their hatred for him. If he seemed like he was being ungrateful or throwing their ‘hospitality’ back in their faces, they could switch on a dime. Unpredictable at their core, he wouldn’t put it past them to choose to disregard his boundaries within seconds if they thought he ‘deserved’ it.
‘Asked you a question, coin’ drawled Thanos. He was loving this. The knowledge that Myung-gi had asked, that he wanted to be tickled, was just too good. Ohhh, the opportunities…the things he could drag out of him, the things he could force him to admit. ‘This is making you feel better? Isn’t it? C’mon, don’t be shy. Answer me’
But Myung-gi couldn’t. Admitting it would be way too embarrassing! It was a miracle he’d even asked for tickles in the first place!
The tickling stopped.
MG coin giggled for a few seconds more, like his body hadn’t caught up to the fact the stimulation had stopped, and then just…froze. Peeling his hands away from his face to stare at Thanos with wet, watery eyes.
‘Wh-why’d you- hehe- stop?’
Nam-gyu sat back on his hands, legs still crossed behind Myung-gi’s head. ‘Aw, for real? I didn’t even get a turn, man’
‘Don’t stress, Nam-su. Just thought we should get some real gratitude from the guy’ Thanos patted Myung-gi’s chest- partly as mockery, and partly to discretely gauge the younger man’s anxiety. Any fast, panicked jittering? Any racing heartbeats pulsing on his palm?
If Myung-gi was going to suddenly lose his shit again then Thanos could bear to put aside his spite and just keep going without messing with him… but if he seemed fairly stable? Not about to rant and rave about dying or whatever?
Well, there wasn’t any harm in fucking with him.
‘Come on, coin’ he purred, rubbing a slow circle- again, disguising it as mocking affection, but really just expanding his range to feel for signs of anxiety. Focusing on the heartbeat beneath. He pressed just a tad harder- and to his delight, unlike when they felt his pulse earlier, the rythym was steady. Still faster than ordinary from the giggle fit and wavering post-anxiety jitters, but yeah…MG coin was back in commission.
Thanos narrowed his eyes with a mean smirk, hardly able to contain himself. ‘We’re doing this for you, boy’
‘What do you mean ‘we’? I haven’t done anything yet!’
‘You can have the next go, Nam-su’
Myung-gi looked down at the hand on his chest, still meandering in clockwise circles. ‘I mean…yeah, it was making me feel better, sure. Look, can you just-’
‘Nah boy’ Thanos cut him off. ‘that’s great and all, but I think we need a little more than that if we’re gonna keep going, right Nam-su?’
Nam-gyu, catching on, grinned half-lidded and flicked Myung-gi’s forehead with a ‘You’ve got a point, Hyung’.
He didn’t let it show, but his breath caught in his throat- he hoped that the sudden sharp flick, out of nowhere and unexpected for Myung-gi, wasn’t enough to spook him and ruin everything.
But, no. Myung-gi didn’t seem the least bit fazed, not even bothering to shoot Nam-gyu a glare. Thank fuck. Nam-gyu didn’t know if he could deal with another MG coin therapy session.
‘I think he should say thank you’
Myung-gi’s head snapped flat on the tile to gawk incredulously at Nam-gyu. ‘What?!’
‘Yeah, MG. Say it. Say thank you, and you’ll get your tickles’ Nam-gyu continued. ‘you’re lucky we’re doing this for your robbing ass. If there’s no appreciation, why would we keep going, eh?’ He flicked again, making sure Myung-gi could see his hand coming this time. ‘We’ll just leave you here, all alone. You think you’re ready to go back to your sad little bunk, no friends, no team? Just you and your thoughts?’
Thanos felt a shift under his hand as myung-gi’s chest jolted, just ever so slightly, but enough that he picked up on it all the same. He felt a few dull thuds, stronger than the rest, and shot Nam-gyu a hard look.
But he didn’t notice, full attention on Myung-gi, leaning over him in an almost spiderman kiss-style. His words were getting too sharp, too serious, too cruel. Thanos wouldn’t care usually, in fact he’d absolutely be joining in, but he could feel the muscle beneath his ringed fingers tense up, shaking slightly, Nam-gyu getting into his head and threatening to start everything up all over again.
‘Hey, Na-’
‘Okay, okay! Thank you, alright?’
Nam-gyu, still oblivious, clapped his hands together and propped them under his chin. ‘Awhh, you’re welcome, MG coin!’
Thanos’ words fell flat in his throat. He was relieved that he didn’t have to stand up for Myung-gi, especially to his right-hand man.
Myung-gi shifted uncomfortably, both from embarrassment of thanking them for something as stupid as this, and also from Nam-gyu’s scything words. The idea of going back to his bunk now, no distraction or relief from his anxiety, was enough for him to actually grab Thanos’ wrist (still pressed over his heart) and moving it down to his side. Thanos’s eyes widened at the boldness but he didn’t pull away.
‘Just- just carry on. Please’
Nam-gyu felt an uncharacteristic flicker of guilt. Just a small one. Hardly there, but there all the same. He didn’t like that Myung-gi seemed obviously more shaken after interacting with him, like he was diseased, and that he’d grabbed Thanos’ hand and practically begged him for tickles. Like he was some kind of safe space. This was supposed to be a joint effort!
Why the fuck was he seeking comfort in Thanos and not him?! That bastard was just as cruel as he was, right? He said things just as horrible as he did, didn’t he?
But he noticed how Myung-gi’s fingers were gripped around Thanos’ slender wrist, hatred forgotten. How he was staring at Thanos and completely ignoring him. He hated it. His inability to see how much more heavy-handed his words were made him even more resentful, because in his eyes- he was only playing around.
Saying that, it wasn’t that he wanted Myung-gi to like him. No, nothing of the sort.
But him and Thanos had always tormented him together. They’d became friends because of their shared resentment for the scammer, their same pain of losing everything because of this one man. And now, what? Thanos was just letting him get all cosy? Oh hell no.
He could be just as charismatic and comforting as the rapper, right?
Thanos was still staring at the grip around his wrist. He wasn’t expecting the scammer to be so forward, especially after how embarrassed he seemed to be about the whole situation. Myung-gi’s hand was cold, grip desperate and unwavering.
The pruple-haired man cleared his throat and sniffed. ‘Okay, MG. Sure, man. Quit gettin’ all weird on me’ and started squeezing in fast little pulses, this time distracting himself from the weird, unpleasant feeling he couldn’t quite name. Pity, maybe? Surely not, though. Not for Myung-gi.
Myung-gi instantly fell back into giggles, worries already washing away. Thanos stretched his other arm out to squish into the other side. ‘Gotta be symmetrical, boy’.
He looked down, surprised to see Myung-gi tapping the back of his knuckles on his knee. Trying to get his attention.
‘Y-you- heheheheihihi- cohohome ohohohon!’ Despite the giggles, Myung-gi still somehow managed to keep that annoyed tone to his voice, encouraging Nam-gyu to join in as if it should’ve been obvious the entire time.
Nam-gyu could’ve made a snarky comment about ‘Was just giving you the choice, dumbass’, but honestly? After his own mini-spiral, he felt a reluctant sense of relief. Instead, he grinned, all teeth, and settled his hands under MG’s arms with a playful ‘Gotcha!’.
Myung-gi had to fight the urge to slam his arms back down, to curl up into a ball and escape the tickles when Nam-gyu’s fingers danced under them. Scratching mercilessly and giggling in that unhinged way only he could achieve.
Thanos was still destroying his sides, abandoning all self-restraint and vibrating his fingers into the divots above his hips, that awful spot that made Myung-gi almost knee him in the face.
For a moment there was no taunting, no sarcastic, nasty remarks- just the sound of MG coin laughing his head off. Occasionally he’d grab at Nam-gyu’s elbows, but not to push away. Just to ground himself.
Of course, there was only so long the two druggies could hold back their impish ways.
Nam-gyu was the first to break, grinning so hard his cheeks ached.
‘Awh, look at him, holding on to me’ He drilled his fingers into a few upper ribs, earning a yelp. ‘You good down there, coin?’
‘AHAHAHAHAHAHA!’
‘I’m gonna take that as a yes’
Thanos had made his way to Myung-gi’s thighs, burrowing into the flesh and making his legs tense from how hard he was trying to keep them from flying at all angles. ‘Course he’s fine! We’ve put him through worse than this, right, MG coin?’ he targeted the softness of his inner thighs, using his knuckles to grind in and shake at the muscles. Myung-gi grabbed Nam-gyu so hard his fingers burnt, trying so hard to just take it. ‘This is us being real nice’
‘SH-SHUHUHUHuh-SHUT UP!’ The hysterical man cackled, but it was more from being so flustered than real insult.
Nam-gyu and Thanos looked at each other briefly and feigned hurt.
‘Ya hear that Nam-su?’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘Ya hear that Nam-gyu? Telling me to shut up like that?’
‘It’s the only thing I heard. Hasn’t gotten any quieter from last time, has he?’ He replied, squeezing at where the tendons of Myung-gi’s arms met his shoulders. The tickle was a different type of feeling that 333 wasn’t prepared for, deeper and unbearable in that ‘holy fuck, get OFF’ way. He screeched (a sound he’d later deny making) and slammed his arms down, only succeeding in trapping the squeezing fingers.
‘Damn, coin, I know you wanted this and all, but don’t get desperate’ 124 teased and squeezed harder, working the muscle like dough. Myung-gi tried to curl up, resistance be damned, knees bending to try and kick Thanos off from where he was still ruthlessly pinching.
‘OhohohOKAY! BREAK! BREAHAHAHAK!’ the desperate words shot through the hysterics, Myung-gi windmilling his arms uselessly at anything within slapping distance.
To his surprise, they stopped immediately. Player 333 rubbed his elbow over his eyes, drying small tears in the crook of his arm. His face was so hot it could rival the sun, giggles still streaming from his lips. There was still a part of him that couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
‘Ahhh-hehehe-just, just give me a sec, okay?’ He murmured into his arm. ‘Holy shit…’
‘You’re not giving up now, right?’ Thanos gave a harsh poke to the thigh, making Myung-gi snicker and jolt his leg.
‘N-no, I’m fine, just-whew- just let me breathe, holy fuck’
Thanos and Nam-gyu stared down at him. Truthfully, they wanted nothing more than to just dig right back in and make him scream, but even they knew better than to push too hard right now.
‘Sure, man. Catch your breath’ Thanos nodded and played with the seam of his pockets, trying not to look too interested. Nam-gyu shook out his hands, trying to seem serious but giggling despite himself.
‘just take shallow breaths, or whatever’
Myung-gi swatted at him. ‘I know how to breathe, fuckhead’
‘Y’sure?’ 124 rubbed a thumb under MG’s eye to brush away a tear. Myung-gi just…let him. ‘That’s not what you were saying earlier’
‘Yeah, well, that was earlier’
‘So it’s helping then?’ Thanos nudged his foot against Myung-gi’s. ‘Feeling like you’re still gonna burst into flames?’
MG coin took a deep breath, like he was test-running his own lungs.
‘…yeah. Yeah, it’s helping’ he muttered. There was an undeniable tinge of shame to his voice, and he burrowed his head further into his elbow. He hated that he felt grateful for these two fucks having turned up at the right time, but the alternative? Him being alone, tweaking out in the corner of a random cubicle, clawing at his own chest? Well, it could be a lot worse.
‘Can we carry on, or what?’ Nam-gyu blurted in the bluntest, driest tone imaginable, like myung-gi needing any recovery time at all was a great inconvenience.
‘Give me a fucking second, I said!’
Nam-gyu rasied his hands like he’d just been burnt. ‘Okay! Shit! Not gonna do anything unless you say!’
‘Excuse me if I don’t trust you’ Myung-gi said without any real bite. ‘You don’t exactly have a history of listening to me’
‘Jesus, boy, you sound like a damn therapist’ Thanos snorted, dismissing him. ‘So dramatic, eh?’
333 flipped him off weakly- which, for a moment, he feared would piss them off into treating him to a real ‘Nam-gyu and Thanos special’, but Thanos simply flipped him off right back.
‘Okay, okay’ he flopped his arms backwards, practically onto Nam-gyu, offering himself up. ‘I’m ready. Go for it’
But as soon as their hands approached, he squeaked and flinched and drew his limbs close to himself in a protective manner.
‘Yo! The fuck’s wrong?’ Thanos withdrew his hands, looking at him like he’d grown a second head.
‘Yeah, coin. Wastin’ time over here. Don’t want that nasty anxiety to come back, do you?’
‘Sorry, sorry! I just- I know it’s coming’
‘So?’
‘So, I can’t help it! It’s just a reflex’
‘God’s sake. Just like…close your eyes or somethin’’
‘Unless you want me to hold you down?’ Nam-gyu said with far too much excitement.
‘No.’
Suddenly his vision turned black as a firm hand came over his eyes.
‘Fine. This better?’
‘Ah! What the fuHUHUHUHUCK! HEHEHEHEY!’ Electric shocks of sensation shot up his sides, his stomach, under his arms and his ribs as suddenly there were hands everywhere, tickling madly. With his sight obscured, every touch seemed to tickle 10x worse, and he gave up trying to hold back instinct and thrashed madly.
He heard them laugh, delighted at how much he was losing his shit. Nam-gyu pressed down harder, using his free hand to dig at his ribs, up and down up and down, making him laugh so hard he almost went silent.
Thanos had his hands in ‘spade’ positions, vibrating and shaking into the flesh of Myung-gi’s abs and moving them slowly outwards, targeting his sides and even going so far as to shimmy them beneath Myung-gi’s arched frame, ‘massaging’ into the muscle.
Myung-gi felt his knee connect with something soft and an ‘OW MG coin!’ from Thanos, but the tickling continued.
‘SOHOHOHO-AH!- SOHohohORRY!’ He squealed, hating himself instantly for apologising like he was some kind of guilty child. Sure, he’d asked for this, but after everything prior they’d put him through? Well, they were lucky it was just a knee.
‘Pff, whatever bro. Next time I’m kickin’ you right back, you little shit’ He hardly heard the reply, but could somehow register the tone as more teasing than genuinely threatening. It would’ve shocked him if it weren’t for today being the weirdest day of his entire life.
‘You sound so happy MG coin~!’ Nam-gyu sang, fluttering his fingers up Myung-gi’s neck and collarbone, making him hike up his shoulders. ‘You enjoying this? Yeah?’
‘Ha, yeah, Coin. Tell us how much you’re lovin’ this’
‘NOHOHOHOHO! FUhuhuHUCK OFF!’
‘Well, shit. Sounds like you kinda want us to stop’ Nam-gyu moved his tickling hand away, and-
‘No! Dohohont!’
‘Oh, don’t? Don’t what?’
Thanos worked in tandem with his lackey and halted his own fingers, still lightly tracing but not enough to do anything but pull light giggles out the scammer. Myung-gi couldn’t see him, either of them, but he knew they were grinning. Ugh, assholes.
He couldn’t believe he was about to say this.
‘…Don’t st-stohohohop, okay? There! I saihihid it!’
‘Annnnd?’
‘Ahahahand…I’m enjoying ihihihit…’
‘Awh! Good little scammer!’
Myung-gi yelped as the tickling resumed, harder this time. In a way, he was glad he couldn’t see them- he didn’t know if he’d ever recover seeing their gloating faces after admitting he was enjoying being tickled. By them. As a grown man.
What he wouldn’t tell them, though, is that his anxiety had disappeared minutes ago.
What they wouldn’t tell him, but would definitely laugh about to themselves later, is that they knew.
So you mean it's your birthday, and WE ARE the ones who get a gift?… AND IT’S NOT JUST THE THE GIFT, IT’S THE GIFT LIKE THIS MASTERPIECE?!
I would say I have no words to say just because if I would say all the words I actually have, the length this reblog would be just like the length of your fic! So I’m gonna ranting too much about this to you personally and now I’ll only say I’M ECSTATIC AF 😭
just wanted to say that ur fics are sooO fcking cute and i literally melt into a puddle everytime you write about lee gihun ahah my absolute favorite. thanks for ur work ♡
MY SHAYLA, WHOEVER YOU ARE 😭💔
Thank YOU for this kindest words, cause you probably don’t even know how much it means for me!! I haven’t got any requests at all for ages and especially any feedback (tho I’m kinda hope it’s just because this account is so silent these last months! Probably that’s why I’m a bit scared to write something again… Like, u know, what if I’ll come back to writing and the activity won’t rise 🫠)
BUT I’m appreciating your support sooo much and if you have any specific request or something, I might do it for you 💜
(Lee Gi-Hun is absolutely my constant Roman Empire hehe)
thinking about the vistors in no I am not human trying to convince the homeowner to let them in and once they’re in pinning the homeowner and tickling the life out of them *insert Cynthia Erivo thinking gif* -🌊
(I apologise if any of this is really off-canon, I’ve not played the game myself)
Omg yes. At first they really are intending to masquerade as human in order to bide their time and eventually kill homeowner…
…but maybe they learn about this weird weakness called ‘tickling’ from the pale man (idk, I think he’d absolutely tell as many visitors as he could about homeowner being ticklish because at this point he only exists to torment homeowner).
They coerce and manipulate homeowner into letting them in, one at a time; until he’s got so many in he doesn’t know who’s human, who’s visitor, he’s checked everyone at least twice and he’s getting muddled up with what checks he’s done and on who.
AND THEN THEY POUNCE and absolutely destroy him. Each visitor has different personalities so some are cackling alongside him, some are genuinely fascinated because ‘shit, I just squeeze this rib and he almost pees??? Fucking sick one bro’. Some still have hazy memories of tickling from their human lives and feel a sense of nostalgic comfort.
They take turns ofc. They each want him to themselves for at least a few minutes. Bonus points if the guests who actually ARE human join in to blend in and keep themselves out the limelight LMAOOO.
After each one he tries to negotiate with them to just let him go, leave him alone. He won’t do any more checks. They’re free to go, just fuck off!!!
Of course they just kinda stare at each other and then laugh bc no??? The world is going to shit and this is the most cathartic fun they’ve had in however long. Now just sit back and take it, they’ll be done when they’re done, Kay?
In-Ho rarely ever got drunk. He drank a lot - that was for sure. But he never actually got drunk. He was too composed for that. I mean, it wasn't like he hated fun. Fun just...wasn't in his blood. That was pretty typical for a person with zero empathy. The Salesman, however, liked to have fun despite his sociopathic personality. That was one of the reason's In-Ho had hired the man - he was serious and vicious enough to exploit people and lead them into death games without losing sleep at night, but he wasn't stoic enough to not be able to have a little fun while playing games with his recruitees in the process. In-Ho and the Salesman had become good friends throughout the course of their working relationship. And, of course, one thing that friends are extra good for is peer pressure. So when the Salesman asked the Frontman if he wanted to go to a club on Halloween night and get wasted, In-Ho just thought - oh what the hell, it's once a year.
But here's an ironic twist - it was the Salesman, not In-Ho, who had to suffer from the consequences of the Frontman's intoxication. In-Ho did a lot of things last night that he would deny to his grave. One of them was smearing melted chocolate all over the Salesman's briefcase on the taxi ride home, (which the Salesman, looking out the window, hadn't noticed till they'd gotten back to his place). While the Salesman made up his couch for In-Ho to sleep, the Frontman was just giggling away. Goodness knows what he was giggling about.
"There, it's ready. See you in the morning-"
In-Ho lay on the couch but didn't sleep. Instead, he just started singing - quite loudly, but surprisingly on tune. The Salesman had to listen to some sloppy love song while he was brushing his teeth, (although the Frontman had replaced nearly every second word with 'Player 456'. Yeah, no way he could deny having a crush on that guy now). The Salesman was fucking exhausted. He needed sleep, and couldn't hold back his anger, (he was drunk after all).
He purposefully spat his toothpaste in the sink before yelling across the house - "Shut the fuck up!!"
There was silence for a moment. Another moment. A third. And than In-Ho just started singing again. Of course, the only logical solution was to hit the man in the head with his briefcase. It was the Salesman's signature weapon after all.
He (rather drunkedly) stormed off to his bedroom and grabbed the sacred object, marching back to the living room to where In-Ho was lying on the couch, singling and swinging his legs up and down like a school girl with a crush. The black-haired man lifted his briefcase threateningly above In-Ho but, surprisingly, the man didn't flinch. He just...laughed. The Salesman raised a very annoyed eyebbrow.
"Ihihit's covered in chocolate!", In-Ho giggled, before tossing his head back and cackling like a mad man. The Salesman inspected his briefcase and, sure enough, it was covered in melted chocolate. Okay, that was the last straw. His patience had reached it's end.
"You...you did this", he said, practically fuming, "That's my favourite briefcase and now it's all covered in...melted..."
The younger couldn't finish his sentence. In-Ho was still cackling away. God, he was fuming.
"You think this is a joke? I'll show you funny-"
The Salesman didn't know why he did it. He wasn't even sure if it would work. But the sound of In-Ho's hysterical laughter had given him an idea, and his intoxicated self had thought it was worth giving it a shot.
But it did work.
As soon as the Salesman's fingers made contact with the thin fabric of In-Ho's shirt, and curled around his sides, the Frontman was screeching. His laughter went from amused to pained in an instant.
Wow. This was definitely a sight to see. The Salesman experimented, gently kneading the man's ribs. His laughter got even more high pitched and he started to shake violently, flailing all of his limbs but being too weak to fight back.
Oh, how the Salesman wished he could film this. But if he went to grab his phone his victim would just escape. To see the normally completely stoic Frontman drunk was one thing, but to see him get ticklish? Before In-Ho's continuous giggling had annoyed the Salesman. But, now that the Frontman was laughing at his own expense, the younger actually felt like he could appreciate it.
The Salesman raised his voice to be heard over In-Ho's frantic chuckles - "Are you always this ticklish? Or is it just cause your drunk?"
In-Ho didn't respond. All he could do was kick his legs and flail his arms.
"EHEHEHEEEE! EHEHEHEEE!"
The Salesman just rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Yeah, that'll teach you to mess with my stuff!"
The Salesman switched tactics, going for a few squeezes at his bosses' knees. The man absolutely lost it (if he hadn't lost it already).
"OHOHOHO SHIHHIHIT! AHAHAHA!"
The Salesman mock gasped - "Language"
In-Ho just kept cackling, trying and failing to roll over onto his sides to escape the Salesman's evil and unrelenting squuezes.
"PLEHEHEASE!! STAHAHAWP!"
The Salesman stopped and burst out laughing. My goodness - he had actually gotten In-Ho to beg. Hwang In-Ho, THE Frontman, had been begging. And over something as simple as tickling. The Salesman was just about to say something when he heard snores. He looked down - the man below him was fast asleep, breathing heavily with a legitimate grin etched on his face.
"Oh", the Salesman said to himself, "I guess I tired him out".
Now there was only one thing left to do - wash that damn briefcase.
Gi-hun may have a strong dislike for In-ho because of the games and those intense sessions were his way of revenge and getting his anger out, but he wasn't a monster. Sure, he'd let him sit in the aftershocks of the tickles for a little bit, but could never bring himself to just leave him outright. He undid the leather cuffs on his wrists, slowly lowering his arms to avoid cramping. He rubbed a cream on his wrists to soothe the angry red marks on them from pulling, doing his best to ease the raw skin. He nudged him awake a few times, coaxing him to drink a couple of gulps of water, dabbing his sweat with a soft towel.
"You're... sending me... mixed signals... 456... do you hate me or not...?" In-ho asked, out of breath, watching him maneuver around the dark room with practiced movements.
"I do, but I'm not an evil person, I'm showing you basic human decency, something you clearly don't have." Gi-hun said semi harshly, tossing a hoodie at him and leaving the water bottle and a protein bar.
"It gets cold here at night, get some sleep, I'd rather you not pass out during our next session because you're exhausted."
This one made me dying to reread your series about Revenge 😭💔 (and thus I have a great plans for this Halloween night (including rereading of them and also reading all those your Tickletober fics hehe)
BYW THANK YOU FOR THIS AND FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO, DOVE 🥹🥹
A/N: AND AWARD TO MOST CREATIVE TITLE GOES TO USER LETUPABIT ON TUMBLR DOT COM
First off: Thanks so much for everyone's patience, I am so grateful for y'alls support and i love each and every one of you rarararara big platonic smooches for all. I hope you enjoy my lovelies 🥹
I have MISSED writing for these fuckers SO BAD you don't even understand. This is a combination of a request from a while ago, and this post. Also…this is pretty long! So keep that in mind if starting to read :)
This is just fluff, I'll be honest. Like I genuinely just went fucking ham. I started and then couldn't stop I was a woman possessed you guys. I fucking love the trope of Min-su and physical affection, but this time I experimented with Nam-gyu in the mix too. I tried to keep it as characterised as possible but given the circumstances...yeah. LMAOOO I like to think I didn't mangle my babies too much tho.
(I have another fic involving Min-su and affection heheheoho this one here)
Summary: Min-su is sick of being tormented to tears by Thanos and Nam-gyu so tries to get revenge. The poor thing doesn't know what he's gotten himself into.
The sounds coming from the corner steps of the dorm were bizarre enough to make half the room turn and crane their necks. A cacophony of hysterical shrieks, squeals and squeaks split through the air as one very unfortunate, very ticklish player 125 flailed under the weight of two bored druggies.
Min-su writhed on his back on his bunk, laughing himself to pieces as Thanos and Nam-gyu leered above him from either side, hands buried into his stomach and ribs. ‘Stop! StohOHOHOhop!’
It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fucking fair! This was the third time they’d done this today! He had just been minding his business, hoping to get a modicum of peace, but noooo. It was like he had a big sign over his head saying ‘Please bully me!’.
Well, since the two of them discovered how amusing it was to tickle him to tears a few days ago, that is. ‘Stress relief’ they called it. Needing something to ‘take their minds off the games’.
At first they’d just corner him, saying he HAD to let them, he was part of their team, right? And teammates helped each other out, right? But, after the first couple of times, they’d decided they didn’t need to ‘warn him’- it had devolved into them just ambushing him whenever the need struck.
The worst thing? He knew they weren’t actually stressed. Anybody with eyes could tell they were absolutely in their element, racing through each death-game with maniacal energy, thinking themselves utterly invincible.
No, they were just tormenting him because they could.
The most annoying part of it was that he couldn’t come up with any excuse that seemed valid enough in their eyes- simply asking them not to led to tickles. Begging them not to led to tickles. Saying he wasn’t in the mood? Oh, ABSOLUTLEY more tickles, this time with an added ‘then you need this as much as we do, boy!’.
It didn’t matter how much he was on his ‘best behaviour’ (which just consisted of him being as quiet and placid as possible), how many times Se-mi would tell them to quit it (they would simply fake confusion and say they thought he enjoyed it because he was laughing) or how much distance he’d put between him and them (they were faster and stronger and found him every time)- the cycle would continue.
‘C’mon, Min-su! Say ‘please’! Say it and we’ll stop!’ Nam-gyu’s eyes were wide with mock-playfulness, voice high-pitched and sing-songy, clearly enjoying himself. Thanos was no better, teeth bared in an over-excited grin and tittering to himself as he kneaded into the younger man’s sensitive belly. ‘Say it! Saaay it Min-suuu!’
This is usually how it went. Them forcing a ‘please!’ out of him before relenting, but even then? Sometimes they’d just keep going anyway. Their favourite thing (apart from the general ‘tickling him to madness’ shtick) was seeing what manner of stuff they could get outta him, ranging from relatively tame:
‘I’m ticklish!’
‘Thanos and Nam-gyu are the best!’
‘Thanos is my favourite rapper!’ (He hadn’t even listened to a single one of his songs but fuck it, if that’s what it took, then sure. Whatever! Thanos for the win!)
To the absolute diabolical:
‘I’m cute!’
‘Tickle me more!’ (A gamble, because sometimes it would get them to stop, and other times they’d simply carry on and say they’re ‘just giving you what you asked for, bro!’).
‘I love Nam-gyu!’
That last one was Nam-gyu’s favourite.
Min-su let out a startled yelp-laugh when Thanos plunged two fingers into his hip divots and wiggled, the purple-haired man laughing right back at him. ‘Still haven’t said it, man! Just one lil’ word!’
‘Shit, Thanos, he probably hasn’t said it yet ‘cos he likes it’
‘Good point bro. I mean, s’what he said earlier, right?’ Thanos cocked his head as he referenced a previous attack from earlier.
Min-su wanted to defend himself and say that he didn’t like it, that he only said that because they wouldn’t stop tickling him, but he could hardly get a word out through the hysterics.
Nam-gyu rapid-fire poked his torso, sending ticklish shocks through his ribs and sides, and he couldn’t hold out anymore.
‘AHAHAHahAHA!! OKAHAHAHAY! PLEAHAHAHAHASE!’
‘Awhh, there it is! He does have manners!’ Thanos stilled his fingers and stood upright, not before giving Min-su’s stomach an affectionate pat. ‘Well done, boy!’.
Nam-gyu gave him one last poke and backed away, laughing into his sleeve. ‘Thanks for the help, Min-su. You’re a real pal’.
Both junkies walked away from the bunk side by side, Thanos throwing an arm around the club promoter. He gave one last glance at Min-su, winking cheekily, before they disappeared off to…wherever. The wrecked man didn’t care, focused on catching his breath.
His skin buzzed with tickly aftershocks and he scrubbed at his face, trying to wipe away his lingering half-smile. He almost succeeded until he released a shaky breath to calm himself down and a tiny giggle escaped his lips.
Min-su huffed and scowled at the slats of the bunk above him.
Stupid Thanos. Stupid Nam-gyu. Stupid tickling. Couldn’t they pick on someone else for once? Why him?!
He knew it was going to happen again. As soon as they got bored, which would probably be within the next two seconds knowing his luck, they’d be all over him with their ‘let us get at those ribs, man!’. He rubbed at his aching sides in anticipation for whatever they had in store for him later.
...
No.
It would not happen again. Who’s to say he wouldn’t be the one bored? Who’s to say he wouldn’t need a little fun of his own to take his mind off things??
Min-su watched as Thanos and Nam-gyu crossed the dorm and sat themselves in their usual spot on the steps. He was huddled in the opposite corner, sitting on an empty bunk, eyes flitting between the two druggies as his mind whirred.
He knew he didn’t have long; they were bound to feel that itch beneath their skin, the same itch they’d felt numerous times within the last few days- and would seek him out to act upon it.
Unless he got to them first.
Min-su was determined to get them to feel what he felt every time they reduced him to ticklish laughter…he was psyching himself up, telling himself he could do this! How hard could it be? Tickling was super easy, wasn’t it? A childish activity that even a 4 year old could do. Just…wiggle your fingers a bit and reap the rewards, right?
He didn’t exactly have oodles of ‘tickling experience’, but who the fuck really needed it? It was tickling for god’s sake, not rocket science.
And if Thanos and Nam-gyu managed to do it so easily- if the likes of them could pull it off, surely he could too.
He fought off a smile at the thought of Thanos squirming and laughing against his will. At the thought of Nam-gyu inevitably begging him to stop, the same way he begged when he couldn’t take a second more.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bunk and gingerly padded around the railing, making his way to the back wall where he’d be out of sight. He just had to get behind them whilst they were pre-occupied in conversation, all distracted and vulnerable.
Min-su kept a determined eye on the duo as he slipped round the sharp corner of the dorm, practically pressed up to the wall like he was trying to fuse with it. He was now on the side of the ‘Thanos corner’, the two junkies sat on one of the lower steps and still totally oblivious. His heart was pounding…was he really gonna do this?
Player 125 moved until he was standing on the top steps, looking down toward the floor of the dorm…and there, on the bottom steps, were the two bullies. Just sitting and chatting, nudging each other with sharp elbows and snickering.
He was so going to get them back…
Min-su had a one-track mind as he placed one foot in front of the other. All he had to do was get close enough, poke some fingers, and then he’d be all good! right?
Another few steps, and he was but a few inches behind them…they were so close he could act out his plan right here and now, but he didn’t want to jump the gun. No, he should get closer. That way, he’d have more a chance of getting them both, right? What was the point if he only managed to scribble his fingers into one at a time?
Min-su’s heart was beating so fast he swore he could combust- but he was so vengeful at this point (which was, admittedly, out of character for someone as shy as himself). He had to prove he wasn’t just gonna let them push him around!
He took one more step, until he was directly behind them…this was it! They were right there, still caught up in whatever oblivious nonsense they were distracted with- and Min-su’s hands shot out like heat-seeking missiles.
He jabbed sharply into the two men’s sides.
Both Thanos and Nam-gyu jumped out of their seats, a startled yelp escaping both of them.
Min-su felt a warm glow in his cheeks and a satisfied burst of victory. He’d done it! He’d gotten them back!
JACKPOT!
Min-su grinned like a jackal. A few more tickles and… and they’d finally realise he wouldn’t just take it, surely they’d just...oh, um…
They were both glaring at him.
Not seriously angry, no- the twitches of their mouths gave that away, along with Thanos’ eyes widening in mock-surprise- but it was enough to make Min-su’s tickling fingers stall and hover in mid-air.
‘Min-su? The fuck you doin’, man?’ drawled Thanos, one eyebrow raising like he had all the time in the world.
Min-su’s blood went cold.
Oh god, what was he thinking?
They were both taller, stronger, faster- and most importantly- it was two of them against one of him.
ABORT! ABORT!
He tried to pull himself away with a nervous laugh, like it was all just silly banter between friends- but Thanos’ hand grabbing his sleeve kept him locked in place.
Okay, he could still save himself- just play dumb. So, so dumb.
‘Ah- it was an accident!’ he stuttered. ‘I-I fell!’
They were both now fully turned toward him, Nam-gyu laying on the steps, Thanos twisted to make eye contact, still having a hold on Min-su’s player jacket.
‘Fell?’ Player 230 furrowed his brow.
‘That’s weird as hell, Min-su’ Nam-gyu sneered. ‘Y’just happened to fall in that exact way, huh?’
Min-su stammered and fell over his words trying to come up with some excuse. He was panicking, having poked the tickle-happy hornets’ nest.
Nam-gyu was sitting upright now, staring with a menacing smile, body drawn tight like he was about to pounce.
‘I’m sorry! Really, I just tripped and- and my hands just grabbed anything they could- I didn’t mean to-!’
But they were already on him.
Nam-gyu grabbed Min-su by the back of the neck, not unkindly but firmly, using him as leverage to turn himself around to sit side-by-side with Thanos - leaving enough space in the middle for a very flustered Min-su.
As if they shared the same braincell (which they probably did), Thanos moved in tandem and grabbed the younger man’s other wrist and pulled him forward so he was nestled firmly in-between them. He squeaked and kicked out, arms flailing before they both hooked a limb around each of his elbows. Their hands splayed out behind his back, his arms now trapped behind them, waving uselessly.
‘Noooo!’ He cried, grabbing handfuls of the two men’s uniforms with his restrained arms. He could feel their strong shoulders pressing in on his own, their hands behind his back lying heavy. He felt so small, and the closeness of the position made him flush red. God, this was so embarrassing!! Why did he think he could get one over on two of the most deranged, shameless people he’d ever met??
‘G-guys! I’m serious!’ he tried his best to keep his voice steady but the nerves made him wobble. How was he supposed to keep his cool when he was seconds away from the worst tickle attack of his life?!
Thanos’ free hand stretched over to Min-su’s stomach, hovering over it and flexing a few times. ‘Ooohh, you hear that, Nam-su?’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘Y’hear that Nam-gyu? My lil boy is serioooous~’ he sung.
Min-su wanted to snap back that he was not Thanos’ ‘lil boy’, but his short-lived confidence from before had melted like snow in the sun. He wasn’t exactly in the position to be making demands. Hell, even if he’d been the most confident man on Earth, he’d still not have had the courage to speak up.
Nam-gyu snickered and his hand on Min-su’s back pressed slightly harder.
‘Oh, the big scary Min-su is serious?’ he played into the bit, unable to resist due to how fucking funny the whole thing was. ‘Damn, I’m quaking in my boots. Guess we better protect ourselves, right?’
Thanos snorted, watching as Nam-gyu’s free hand squished into Min-su’s side and started drawing ticklish, feather-light circles. Player 125 squirmed immediately and he bit his lip to try and curb the smile that forced its way onto his face. Thanos decided this was a good time to match Nam-gyu’s energy and he lowered his hand onto Min-su’s stomach- not tickling yet, just…holding. He absentmindedly thought how soft the smaller man was. Ooooh, this was gonna be so much fun.
‘Yeah, man. Gotta…take ‘im down a peg’ he said. ‘Neutralise the threat’
‘Nngk! S-stop! I’m not a threat!’ Min-su was trying so hard not to laugh. He didn’t get it! How could he be this stupidly ticklish! Nam-gyu was hardly doing anything, and he already felt as though he wanted to collapse into a giggle fit. And Thanos’ hand on his belly certainly didn’t help- he was almost jumping in anticipation, knowing at any moment he could get thrown into hysterics.
‘Thanos, man- we gotta wear him down. You know that, right?’ Nam-gyu sped up his circling fingers and giggled himself when Min-su jerked with a ‘Agh-!!’.
‘For sure, boy. What would happen if we let him go now? Whilst he’s still all full of energy?’
Thanos’ hand started scrunching slowly, nails lightly dragging over Min-su’s skin over his tracksuit. ‘Hell, he’d probably…tickle us to death, eh?’ he continued.
‘Guess we gotta tickle him to death first, then?’ Nam-gyu looked over Min-su’s head at the purple haired man, cocking his head.
‘Course. It’s like…what’s it called?’ Thanos leaned in and tilted his head, so he was but a hair away from Min-su’s helplessly grinning face and wiggled his eyebrows. ‘Survival instinct…’
He might as well have been nuzzling him with how close he was, but ‘personal space’ was never something Thanos cared too much about. Especially not when it came to Min-su. There was hardly five minutes where he wasn’t hanging off him, against him, or holding him in some condescending, stupid way.
Min-su should’ve known. He should have known that this was how his ‘revenge era’ would’ve ended. Now that he was between the two druggies, each having a hand on his most ticklish spots (even if only one’s hand was actively tickling him, albeit gently) he thought…how bad would it have been, really, if he just let them tickle him whenever they wanted?
It was never all that terrible- in fact, sometimes, it helped take his mind off of things, even if it was utterly unbearable. And it was only ever for less than 5 or 10 minutes (depending how bored they were).
‘Wait- wait! Truce-!’
Is as far as poor Min-su got before both junkies went full nuclear on him.
Nam-gyu’s fingers swapped from tickly circles to full on squeezing, massaging into the muscle of Min-su’s obliques like he was trying to knead dough, hand moving rapidly up and down his side. He squeezed like he was trying to work out a very stubborn, very ticklish muscle knot.
Thanos’ hand started squeezing too, pressing with his fingerpads into the muscles just below Min-su’s bellybutton, and then up above right where his sternum ended.
Min-su, naturally, exploded into panicked laughter.
‘AUGH! NOOO! NOHOHOHOHO! WAIHIHIHIHIT!’
He didn’t even know what he was asking them to wait for. A chance to come up with a better ‘apology’? A mere few more seconds of not being tickled??
Thanos and Nam-gyu were laughing heartily alongside him, just like they always did. That was probably the worst part- they weren’t doing this to genuinely torment or distress him. No, they were doing this for themselves.
Nam-gyu? He was a fucking sociopath. Anyone with two eyes could see that. Every tickle session for him was the equivalent of telling a 5 year old they were going to Disneyland.
Thanos? Well, he was more complicated. He had a MASSIVE soft spot for Min-su. He found min-su’s laughter endearing as hell. Sure, the tickling part was fun, but for him? It was more seeing his precious lil boy free of worries, laughing and shrieking and losing himself to childish giggles. That was all he needed- the tickling? That was just a (massive) added bonus.
‘Tickle tickle tickle~!’ Sang Nam-gyu as his hand kept squeezing. He was grinning wildly, hand working like it was on a mission, determined to wring out every squeak of laughter from the poor boy.
‘I-! I-! IHIHIHIHI!’
Min-su tried to speak- but how could he? When he had such skilled ticklers assaulting his worst spots??
‘y’what? Hm?’ Thanos teased, voice soft as silk.
‘I’M SOHOHO- AHAHAHHA!!’ His words were rudely cut off when a hand grabbed a handful of his belly and flexed in ticklish pulses, making the younger man double over with peals of laughter. Well, as doubled over as he could be- the hands tickling him held him upright.
‘Still didn’t really catch that, my boy’ Thanos pulsed his fingers just a little harder. Not enough to hurt- he would NEVER hurt his boy. But just enough to tickle even worse.
Min-su, unable to crunch forward, instead tried to throw himself backwards. But again- they both had their arms around his back, both restraining his arms and keeping him unable to move more than a wriggle.
He was stuck upright, every inch of him exposed.
‘Nam-su, watch- this is how I’d get the crowd screamin’ my name during sets’
Thanos flattened his hand on Player 125’s stomach and started shaking in ridiculous, exaggerated DJ motions. Like he was mixing a beat. And even worse? He started making silly noises like he was scratching at a record, screwing up his face like he was really performing.
The stupidness of it all was just…well, stupid. In fact, Min-su probably would’ve given a small genuine giggle (or a shy smile at the very least) if he wasn’t shrieking with laughter already.
The shaking motion was more ticklish than he expected it to be, his poor muscles cramping with how hard he was giggling.
‘Woah man. It’s like I’m really back at the club’ Nam-gyu mused sarcastically.
Min-su could not care less, unfortunately. Not about Thanos’ stupid performances, his stupid ‘technique’.
‘FUCK!’ He exclaimed as his legs kicked. ‘STOHOHOHOAHAHAP!’
‘Oh my god, did he just swear?’ Nam-gyu moved his hand to Min-su’s thigh, squishing into the plushy flesh with vigour. ‘Seriously?’
Thanos was scrubbing harder, every now and then curling his fingers to give awful squeezes. scribbling and scrabbling like it was his full-time job, snorting at just how hilarious it all was.
‘He did! He fuckin’ did! D’ya think that means he’s still after our blood, Nam-su?’
Nam-gyu didn’t even bother correcting Thanos this time, instead fixated on how Min-su’s face crumbled with laughter. He saw tiny tear pricks at his eyes and smirked harder.
‘Fuckin’ course it does, Hyung. He’s still furious as hell. We let him go now? Man, I think he’d eliminate us on the spot’ He teased as he forced his hand under the sensitive skin of Min-su’s knees, having to bend slightly but by no means loosening his hold. His dingers dove deftly into flesh, not really caring where it was he was tickling, as long as it did tickle. Which evidently, it did.
Thanos saw Nam-gyu’s hand as it hid under Min-su’s knee and decided- why settle at Min-su’s stomach? There was so much more prime real estate to exploit!
His large hand came into a claw upon Player 125’s knee, the one Nam-gyu wasn’t tickling, right where those horribly ticklish squishy divots were above the cap, and dug in. Working the nerves like crazy, alternating between squeezing and spidering up over his thigh.
‘EhheheHEHEEHE!’ Min-su’s laughter came out in high-pitched squeals, whipping his head from side to side in an attempt to alleviate the sensation- he couldn’t squirm properly, not with them holding him like they were.
Thanos snickered under his breath at how high Min-su’s voice came out, digging into the soft meat of Player 125’s thigh. ‘S’just self defence, boy. You understand right?’ and then in an absolutely EVIL motion, he dug his elbow into the hysterical man’s thigh. Where he could shake the sharp bone over both upper and lower tendons. It was the WORST thing in the WORLD.
Min-su practically denotated, unable to tear himself away because of their strong hold, forced to just feel it. He kicked out reflexively, but everytime he struggled his muscles tensed up which just made everything tickle so much worse.
His head was thrown back and try as he might, he couldn’t stop flailing his legs. His muscles jumped and seized under their hands (or rather, Nam-gyu’s hand and Thanos’ elbow?).
‘Hm? Y’sayin’ somethin’, Min-su-ahh?’ Thanos wasn’t even looking at him now. His head was tilted downwards, shoulder hunched slightly as his elbow continued digging in.
Nothing but shrieking giggles.
‘I think he’s tryna say…’I promise I’ll never mess with you guys again’. That right, Min-su?’
‘NOHOHOHOHO!!’
Min-su may have failed tickling them back, but a tiny shred of that bravery from before fought its way to the surface. He wasn’t going to give in this time! He wasn’t going to say what they wanted. Wasn’t going to beg or plead or whatever the fuck else they were trying to get out of him. Just breathe through it (easier said than done when you were being tickled within an inch of your life) and they’d have to get bored eventually- right??
‘No??’ Thanos’ eyebrows shot upwards in mock-disbelief. ‘Was that a no, my boy?’
Min-su was practically vibrating against the both of them, even more-so when both their hands suddenly crossed over his chest and attacked the ribs opposite. Digging in, vibrating between each bone.
‘Well, damn. Looks like he’s still suuuper mad’ Nam-gyu pinched at his ribs and then suddenly-
Both men’s hands shot up under his player jacket, darting about sporadically. He couldn’t even tell who’s hands were tickling where, dissolving into shrieking laughter so loud he was surprised the guards weren’t coming to break them up. To anybody not looking, it absolutely sounded like an unfortunate soul being pummelled. Min-su, at this point, probably would’ve preferred to be pummelled.
That ‘please’. The word he had tried so hard to withhold to try and hold onto even a scrap of dignity.
But this time, like every other time, he’d crumbled from being simply…too ticklish. At least this round he’d managed to hold off for like…0.5 seconds more than usual?
‘So polite!’ Nam-gyu crowed, fingers spidering up Min-su’s bare sides (because he’d absolutely just gone under the thin player shirt). ‘That feel better, Min-su? You finally calming down?’
‘Nah, boy, he’s still far too wriggly. Those ain’t regular wriggles, those are fury wriggles’ Thanos dropped his voice low and widened his eyes, like he was sharing a terrifying secret, leaning closer to Nam-gyu. Nam-gyu returned the silly, playful tone and leant in too, across Min-su’s chest. ‘Damn, now that you mention it, I think you’re right, dude’ The club promoter was vibrating his clawed hand into Min-su’s side, just below his ribs where the nerves clustered and practically screamed ‘tickle me!’.
‘IHIHIHI’M SEHEHEHERIOUS!! STOHOHOHOP IHIHIHIT!’
‘Hmmm, maybe we’ll stop if you say please again, man’ Thanos gave Min-su’s temple a playful bump, like a cat giving an affectionate headbutt. ‘C’mooon! One more, and we’ll stop! Promise!’
‘Yeah, Min-su! We promise!’ Nam-gyu’s voice dripped with sarcasm, but fuck it. Min-su’s mind was absolutely scrambled, and he didn’t care right now about acting tough.
‘PLEAHAHAHAHASE! FUCK! PL-PLEAHahahahAHASE!’
This was so much worse than anything they’d done to him so far. The bullying, the pressure to vote ‘O’, the other tickle sessions they’d subjected him to. Hell, he’d have voted ‘O’ 100 times over if it would mean they just stopped.
‘Ah, not sure you really mean it, boy’ Thanos was practically leaning his full body weight on him at this point. He couldn’t be closer if he tried. Not only was his entire forearm up under Min-su’s shirt, scribbling away, but the arm around Player 125’s back had now wrapped around his shoulder…
Thanos had fully pulled him in, as if it were some fucked up cuddle. Nam-gyu’s arm was still across his back, helping hold him immobile, but Thanos had given up on subtlety and was as close as close could be. (not that there was much room to be ‘closer’, but still). He was loving his boy being so giggly, so lost in the tickles.
‘STOHOHOHOP! I- I MEAHAHAHN IT! PLEAHASE!!’
Through the hysterics, he thought again- it wasn’t fucking fair! He’d said please! More than once! He’d given them what they wanted! Why the fuck weren’t they stopping?
His laughter broke off into giddy squeaks and without meaning too, his head lulled sideways right onto Thanos’ shoulder.
Thanos, of course, thought this was the best thing ever. His lil boy, leaning against him? Almost like he was a safe space? Ohhh, it was too much.
Too much to waste with the younger man laughing so hard he couldn’t breathe. Laughing so much that he would do anything for it to stop.
The rapper unveiled his hand out from under Min-su’s shirt and held it up flat in that universal ‘stop’ sign.
Nam-gyu didn’t see at first- too busy pinpointing which rib, which patch of skin to assault next- but his eyes flickered up and he saw Thanos motion for it all to cease.
With great reluctance, Nam-gyu stilled his fingers.
‘What’s up, Hyung?’ he asked, obviously itching to get back to it.
Thanos flicked a hand in a sharp move and fully nuzzled his head on the top of Min-su’s, who was breathing heavily trying to catch his breath.
‘Boy’s had enough. He ain’t no threat anymore, see?’ he was still going along with the ‘Min-su is a terrifying enemy’ joke they’d been tormenting him with the past however many minutes.
He jutted his chin down toward Min-su. Nam-gyu’s gaze followed and he saw how red, how breathless the other man was. Not to the point of injury, but…yeah. The bit was over.
‘Hmph’ The club promoter withdrew his hand fully, brushing his hair behind his ear casually. ‘Yeah. He’s useless. Learnt his lesson, I guess’. He wanted nothing more than to carry on, but Thanos had given the word to stop- and he always followed Thanos’ lead.
That didn’t stop him from being a menace, though.
‘You did learn your lesson, right, Min-su?’ He sneered. ‘You gonna try and tickle us again? Or do you need another reminder?’
Min-su frantically shook his head, still catching his breath. Nam-gyu pulled away, Min-su’s arm being left to drop to his side. ‘Y-yeah…I mean, no! I mean- I don’t know! Whatever you want!’ he spoke in stuttering gasps, just desperate to placate them. He couldn’t take anymore of…of whatever the fuck that was!
Thanos chuckled, moving his arm so that it was around Min-su’s waist now that Nam-gyu had shifted away. He gave Min-su an affectionate squeeze.
‘Don’t worry, boy. S’all over. Just don’t pull that shit again, yeah?’ he murmured with a smile.
The younger man nodded weakly. ‘Y-yeah, sure…’. He couldn’t even muster up the strength to be angry about it. Partly because he didn’t want to be tickled again, but mostly? His body was betraying him. The hysterical laughter had released dopamine. His body didn’t know the difference between real and forced laughter- it just knew that he’d laughed. That he hadn’t been in any serious danger, and really? It was…kinda fun. He felt floaty and weirdly, happy. Which was rich, to be happy, in a place like this.
Thanos turned himself so he was sitting back against the bunk behind them, and dragged Min-su along with him, so his back was against the rapper’s chest. Giggling through his teeth at how floppy his lil boy was being. The exhausted man didn’t put up any fight- just let himself be positioned against Thanos. It was humiliating, sure, but also…safe.
Min-su had never had this kind of treatment after any of the other tickle attacks over the past few days. Usually they just left him where he fell, left to watch them walk off, left to try and calm himself down. Even though they were never overly malicious, their attention spans hopped from one thing to another, and they’d be off chasing the next distraction.
But this was obviously so much different. He didn’t even get a say, didn’t even get a choice to walk himself off to another bunk (if he even could walk after all that). Thanos didn’t seem in the slightest to be awkward or embarrassed about having a grown man he’d known for a mere 72 hours cuddled up on him, but it wasn’t too much of a surprise from what he knew of Thanos. The older man had clearly taken some kind of liking to him, and although being literally snugged together with strong arms wrapped round his chest was objectively weird- it wasn’t unwelcome.
Nam-gyu was sitting back on his elbows once again, watching the two.
He scoffed.
‘What are you doing, Hyung?’ he said with a light-hearted tone, not wanting to upset the man he looked up to.
Thanos just hummed a little ‘Takin’ care of my boy’.
The younger junkie stared. And stared.
They looked comfy. Frustratingly so. He had just helped tickle Min-su to tears, and what? He didn’t get any acknowledgement? He just had to watch his Hyung cuddle up with that pathetic loser and act like he didn’t exist??
He scoffed, a little louder than he meant to, and looked away. Stared at the centre of the dorm, watching some players play tug-of-war with knotted bedsheets. He didn’t need Thanos. Or Min-su.
No, he was perfectly content watching that one player try his darndest to pull his rival over the make-shift finish line they’d made out of rogue food trays. Yep. This was…certainly entertainment. Oh, look, one of them fell over. Which was admittedly kinda funny, if he really focused-
‘Nam-su’.
Nam-gyu’s head swivelled so hard it was a miracle it didn’t fall off.
‘Uh…Nam-gyu’
‘Nam-gyu. Come get in on this’
Both Nam-gyu and Min-su froze. Min-su, because he couldn’t think of anything worse than fucking Nam-gyu cuddling up with him- and Nam-gyu, because he was trying so hard to squash down the relief that he hadn’t been forgotten.
‘Get…get in on what?’ Player 124 stuttered, not quite sure he heard his Hyung correctly.
‘Come cuddle this pathetic thing’ Thanos replied fondly, nuzzling into Min-su’s hair. ‘He’s warm as shit. Boy’s just askin’ for cuddles’
Nam-gyu hesitated. Cuddling…with Min-su. And Thanos. In the outside world, he’d never be caught dead doing that.
But in the games? The rules were different. Different, as in, non-existent.
Everything here was so weird. So scary (although he’d never admit that, no matter how much his hands shook). He didn’t want to accept it, but the cold truth was that tomorrow could get…dicey, to say the least. Whilst drugged up on whatever mystery chemical Thanos supplied him, he had absolutely no fear or anxiety. But his last dose was before that morning’s game, and the artificial confidence was starting to fade.
Maybe some silly affection would make him feel better?
Not only that, but time messing with Min-su was always time well spent.
He narrowed his eyes and gave a tight-lipped smile, revelling in the way the smaller man stared back with wide, wet eyes. Like a…a spooked puppy.
Nam-gyu wasn’t too far away, so in a few crawls of hands-and-knees, was right in front of Min-su- the both of them now being between Thanos’ legs. He tilted his head. ‘C’mon, Min-su. I’m tired after all that. You don’t mind, do you?’.
Completely rhetoric.
Min-su was staring at Player 124 with frightened eyes, like he thought he was going to do something odd. It wasn’t a crazy worry- Nam-gyu had done nothing other than push him around and tickle him to hysterics. He drew up his knees and wanted to stand up and get away- but Thanos was for once, fairly relaxed, and would surely stop Nam-gyu if he tried anything right now? This might be the last fleeting moment of peace he got for a while.
‘U-um…’ he stuttered, looking around the dorm nervously. He glanced over his shoulder and Thanos craned his neck to look down at him, rocking him with a quick squeeze and grinning toothily.
Nam-gyu gave him a few taps on the knee to regain his attention. ‘Oi. Yes or no?’
The anxious player between the two druggies wished he could just disappear into Thanos’ chest. He was flustered beyond belief and hid his face in the crook of Thanos’ elbow with a squeak. It was a miracle the ex-rapper didn’t explode right there.
‘Oh my god! He’s shy, man! Y’ever seen anything so stupid?’ he let out a wheezy giggle and squeezed his elbows tight, burying the younger man’s head further. ‘Maybe he needs some…convincing? Hm?’
Min-su jerked upright. He knew what that meant.
‘N-no! Wait! Don’t tick-’
PPPBBFFFFFT
A RASPBERRY. INTO THE CROOK OF HIS NECK.
Nam-gyu’s eyes widened and he snorted, crooked smile growing. ‘Fucking hell’.
Min-su yelped and dissolved into giggles, wiggling and trying to jerk away, but Thanos’ arms were too strong. He was held immobile, so did the next best thing he could- scrunched his shoulder up- leaving the other side of his neck completely exposed.
‘HEHEHEHEY!!’
PPPPPBBBBBFFFT
A longer one right into the free side, just below his ear. His legs kicked and he instinctively squished his head to the freshly-raspberried patch of skin and then-
ANOTHER!! Back in the first spot.
‘EEEEEE! STOHOHOP!!’ he squealed and jolted like he’d been electrocuted.
Min-su’s legs came dangerously close to kneeing Player 124 right in the jaw, and Nam-gyu recoiled from his place between them, one arm coming to protect his face. ‘WOaaah Min-su-ahh! Don’t go kicking me! I’m not the one doing it!’
Poor, hysterical, flustered Min-su could hardly even comprehend words right now. Everytime he scrunched his shoulders one way, Thanos was right there buzzing his lips onto the other.
It was a different kind of feeling than just fingers. A whole lot more embarrassing and a whole lot more unbearably ticklish.
‘STAHAHAHAHAP!!’ He threw his head back and tried to arch, which just rewarded him with another raspberry right to the centre of his throat. It was a slightly awkward angle but the ex-rapper didn’t let that stop him.
Thanos cackled at how Min-su jerked and folded forward again in his arms, shoulders shaking with giggles. He met Nam-gyu’s eyes, who was tittering with raised eyebrows, hands braced on min-su’s knees. The two bullies laughed loudly, eyes crinkling, and laughed even louder when Min-su shot a hand upwards and pushed at Thanos’ chin, shoving his head comedically, arm flapping in useless waves. ‘Stop! No mohohore!’
Thanos snorted and his laughter went silent for a second before wriggling his head free. ‘Hah! H-hohohly shit! This is-snrk- this is the funniest thing I have ever fuckin’ seen, boy’
‘Do another one, dude’
‘No!! Don’t do another one!’ came the giggly reply from below. Thanos raised one eyebrow theatrically and hunched over, chin hooked over Min-su’s shoulder. ‘Dunno, Min-su-ahh…Y’being kinda rude to my Nam-su here’ He put on a pout. ‘Not lettin’ him join the cuddle pile…awhhh…’
Nam-su glowed at that. His nam-su!
Sure, he got his name wrong again, but the attention was so welcomed he didn’t care.
He joined in on the bit, pouting too, dropping his head on Min-su’s knee and looking up at him with big eyes.
‘C’mon Min-su. I promise I won’t bite. I’ve been nothing but nice to you so far, hm? Making you laugh…and laugh…and laugh again’
Min-su’s gave a wobbly smile, but that was probably because Nam-gyu was now poking in ticklish (ahem, annoying) jabs at his thigh with one hand. ‘I can make you laugh more, if you want?’ he kept his face looking mock-innocent, like the idea of tickling Min-su again would be some kind of chore (it absolutely would not have been).
‘No!’
‘Then lemme join, man’ Nam-gyu propped his head up on an elbow. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice? Like a big ol’ happy family, yeah?’
Min-su swore his face couldn’t get any redder. Nam-gyu…willingly trying to convince him to cuddle? Was he in a fever dream?
And then there was the solid warmth of Thanos behind him, his arms still wrapped around his chest and waist, thighs pressing into his. He couldn’t turn away, couldn’t go back or forward. No matter where he faced, one of them was there.
‘You…you really want to lie on me?’ His voice came out small and uncertain. Maybe this was all a prank? And Thanos was seconds from shoving him off, Nam-gyu seconds from giving him a mean-spirited kick, and every moment he waited was just prolonging the inevitable?
Nam-gyu snorted and flicked Min-su’s nose, making the smaller man jump in Thanos’ grip.
‘I mean, I didn’t at first. But Hyung made it look like soooo much fun’ he drawled. ‘So, sure? Whyever not, hm? You know me, Min-su…’ he leant forward with a sharkish grin, bob falling around his face. ‘…Sociable kinda guy, right?’
‘See, boy? You’d be doin’ this sad sack a favour’ Thanos gestured flippantly at Nam-gyu with a hand before dropping it back over Min-su’s waist.
‘Hm. Maybe he’s scared of me, Hyung?’
Thanos snorted. ‘That it, Min-su? Y’scared? What, of little ol’ Nam-su here?’
‘Nam-gyu’
‘See. Gotten his name wrong so many times, and listen to ‘im. Still corrects me all calm and collected like. Ain’t one for losin’ his temper, our Nam-su’
Nam-gyu scoffed inwardly. The cheek! He’d just admitted it! Just acknowledged he kept getting his name wrong, and in the same sentence, got his name wrong!!
Meanwhile Min-su was fighting an inward battle, because…yes? Nam-gyu was scary? And that quip about him never losing his temper…yeah, right.
But Nam-gyu didn’t seem angry now. Well, obviously. It was hard to be angry when you’d just tickled the shit out of someone (they weren’t kidding when they said it was ‘stress relief’).
He didn’t even seem scary right now, either. At first, yeah, Min-su was terrified of him as he’d crawled practically atop of his legs. But as the moments ticked on, the fear had slowly given way to…mild annoyance. The same kind of annoyance you’d feel with a sibling, or some other low-level pest. An almost fond, fun kind. The kind where you knew you weren’t in real danger.
Not to mention it was hard to be scared of someone who was so adamant on cuddling you.
‘Are you…gonna tickle me again if I let you?’
Both men chuckled and Nam-gyu gave him another irritating flick.
‘I’ll tickle you if you don’t let me’ he swept his short hair back behind his ears. Bullying Min-su sure was giving him a bad hair day.
Min-su shifted and grumbled, trying to ignore Thanos who’d started rapping under his breath, making nonsense hand gestures across the younger man’s stomach. Ever the shitty attention span- during meals, during the death games, and even during…whatever the fuck this was.
‘…fine’
‘Great!’
Min-su didn’t have time to process as Nam-gyu practically fell on him, sparing no mind to his body weight. Thanos had moved his hands so that Nam-gyu could lie flush, and then wrapped his arms around him.
Min-su was sandwiched between both of them. Nam-gyu lay flat on top, shifting like he was making himself comfortable the same way he would in his bunk. Thanos just hummed and nosed into Min-su’s hair vigorously like a drugged-up golden retriever, grinning so wide his cheeks hurt.
‘See! Ain’t this nice? All peaceful n’ shit’
Min-su blew his fringe out his face from where it had been mussed by Thanos’…’affection’. Nothing involving these two could ever be classed as peaceful, but this was probably the closest it would get. In front of him, Nam-gyu sighed into his chest with a ‘Squishy bastard’, arms splayed out under Min-su’s.
Player 125 huffed, defeated. This was his life now.
-----------------------------------------------
For the first few minutes, the two junkies had gone back and forth with meaningless banter, Min-su willing himself to just endure until they got bored-
But after a while? The chattering stopped. The occasional pokes from Nam-gyu and weird playful snuffling from Thanos had stopped. Their breathing had evened out, both tormentors seeming actually rather relaxed. Player 230’s head was back against the bunk railing, eyes half-lidded like he was deep in thought. It was probably the longest anyone in the dorm had seen him stay still.
Nam-gyu was still lying on 125’s chest, head to the side and fiddling with a loose thread on Min-su’s sleeve. The smaller man could feel their heartbeats on either side of him- whenever Thanos’ would beat against his back, Nam-gyu’s would follow at his front. Despite it all, the heavy pressure and pulsing hearts were calming and warm. It wasn’t…terrible. In fact, Min-su’s anxiety had dissolved away entirely, not that he’d ever admit it.
Minutes stretched. And stretched. The air was still and silent, the only sounds being the murmur of other players and footsteps of the restless, when-
‘Hyung’
Nam-gyu’s voice was low in a hushed whisper.
Thanos blinked out of his trance and tilted his head down, cocking it to the side to look over Min-su’s shoulder.
‘What’s up, man?’ he replied in an equally low tone, voice slightly gravelly from not using it for so long (a rare occurrence with Thanos, truly).
Nam-gyu gave a half-grin and nodded toward Min-su. ‘He’s fuckin’ asleep, dude’.
The purple haired man dropped his gaze, resting his head sideways to see the side of Min-su’s face. Nam-gyu was right- the man was conked out, lips parted just so. His hands, bunched under Nam-gyu, twitched against the player jacket every so often like he was dreaming.
Thanos bit his lip to stop himself from giggling.
‘Well, ain’t that sweet. All that fuss he was kickin’ up for nothin’
Nam-gyu lifted himself just slightly, weight alleviating, and Min-su stretched…before flopping his limbs back down and unconsciously wrapping around Nam-gyu’s arm. Nam-gyu couldn’t help but find it endearing- this little, nervous thing clinging to him in his sleep. He would absolutely be using this on him later.
Player 124 lowered himself back down, as gentle as could be, shoulders bouncing as he laughed silently.
‘Stop laughin’, Nam-su, you’ll wake him up’
‘Sorry, sorry- I just can’t believe it. All that whinging and he’s REM’ing like a champ’ his voice threatened to raise as he stifled giggles but he continued whispering.
‘Such a lil’ squish’ Thanos whispered affectionately.
‘So, uh…do we just wait for him to wake up, or what?’ The club promoter asked.
'Course we do. Lookit 'im. Lil' guy needs his sleep, right?'
Nam-gyu didn't say anything else, resting with his head staring up at Min-su's oblivious face. He felt the soft rise and fall of his deep breaths, the rhythm almost hypnotising. It probably wouldn't be long until he fell asleep himself. No worries of what fresh hell tomorrow would hold...just a grounding, sleeping Min-su. His Hyung with his arms around him, his hands keeping them stacked on top of each other in the most ridiculous cuddle pile known to man.
All was going well, Player 124 studying Min-su's face. For once there was no urge to ridicule or mock.
Suddenly, Min-su’s eyebrows began to furrow. He squirmed and his breathing came slightly faster. ‘Oh shit- I think he’s waking up, man’
Thanos smiled softly. 'Nah, not yet'. He removed one hand from Nam-gyu’s back and placed it heavily over the stirring man’s eyes. ‘Ssshhhh…stay sleepin’, sleepy squish’
Min-su calmed, the pressure over his eyes lulling him back down fully. Thanos kept his hand there for a few more seconds until he was sure the younger man wouldn't wake, before placing it back on Nam-gyu.
Hours later, that night, when there would be nothing but a soft, golden glow of the piggybank, the three men would be found in the exact same position. Thanos would probably wake up with back pain.
Oh I wish that puddle who I am turned into after reading this fic could say anything 😭🫠💔
Lettie, I have a feeling I’m calling every of your fics a masterpiece and I’m so sorry for my poor vocabulary but what can I do if them all are works of art 🤌
Okay so I have decided to write a Tickletober post that nobody requested for two reasons.
Why tf not?
My gorgeous friend @lord-of-hyperfix deserves it
Because....457
The theme for Day 11 is 'Picky'
Warning - I wrote this really quickly so it will be kinda shit.
Ok I hope you enjoy
"Get that American junk off my plate"
"It's German, actually"
"Well, Gi-Hun, its' popular in America".
The former winner rolled his eyes. Honestly. Why couldn't the former Frontman stop acting like a child and just eat the damn hotdog his boyfriend had so magnificently prepared for him?
"I thought you'd like it", Gi-Hun admitted, "I didn't realize you'd be so damn picky"
In-Ho just shook his head in disapproval - as if it was Gi-Hun who was acting childish and not him. Damn, why did he always manage to come off as so mature and composed, even when acting without an inch of reasonableness?
"I am not picky", In-Ho sighed, "I have standards".
"Clearly", Gi-Hun muttered.
In-Ho let out one of his rich chuckles that sounded like money, "Ha-ha-ha, and what is that supposed to mean?"
The taller just winked "Of course you have standards" - he kissed his boyfriends' cheek - "I'm gorgeous".
YES - In-Ho was blushing. It was adorable when he blushed. Getting the perfectly composed man all red and flustered.
"Of course you are dear-", In-Ho admitted, brushing a finger behind his boyfriends' ear and kissing his forhead.
Gi-Hun shivered. The former Frontman delighted in that. He loved how tactile his boyfriend was. In fact, it gave him an idea.
"You know, I'm not the only one who is picky, Mr.Seong".
Gi-Hun cursed - he hated (loved) it when In-Ho called him that.
That made said man let out another rich chuckle.
"You see, I know you like it when I do this-"
The shorter creeped his fingers up Gi-Hun's arms and gave his shoulder a soothing rub. Gi-Hun couldn't help but relax into the touch.
"And you like this too-" In-Ho continued, pecking his nose, making him shiver.
"But, oh, you are so picky, because you don't like this-"
That was when Gi-Hun felt sharp pinches on the side of his belly. His body jerked forward and he screeched.
In-Ho just giggled and shook his head, "And you can't stand this either-"
Gi-Hun felt knuckles vibrating into the sides of his ribs, making him collapse on on his chair, bursting into a stream of chuckles.
"Stohohohop"
In-Ho tutted - "See, picky picky-"
"Fuhuhuck yohohou"
The attacker quickly withdrew his hands.
"See? I'm not the only one with standards"
Gi-Hun glared at him - he'd been tickled enough to get frustrated, but not enough to have a smile etched on his face, so the glare looked pretty legit.
"Oh come on, could you really not handle that?", the Former Frontman asked in a tone that was clearly feigning concern.
Gi-Hun said nothing.
"So you disagree then? You don't think your picky?"
Nothing again.
In-Ho just smirked - "Oh, I see how it is-"
"Wai-NAHAHAHA!"
That bastard was digging his fingers under his arms.
"What's wrong? Does this tickle?"
Gi-Hun didn't have the energy to protest. Well, he didn't really want to anyway.
Gi-hun had completely forgotten what it felt like to relax. He hadn’t relaxed in four years. After his first go through the squid game, he had been on edge, alert, constantly. Now he was back in that retched place, swearing to help as many people as possible, even if he died in the process. He'd ignored his teammates' please to swap out so he could sleep and sat on the stairs, Hyun-ju had sat and kept watch with him for a while before he shooed her off to bed, arguing that she's one of their best assets so she needs to be well rested. At some point Young-il had joined him on the stairs, giving him the same speech he had heard three times already about him needing rest too.
"I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in four years, my body is used to it, everyone else's isn't, I'm fine." Young-il stared at him for a while, like he was trying to understand him. In-ho could never quite understand Gi-hun, he almost couldn't believe that someone who feels that much could still be so good after everything he'd been through.
"You should still get at least an hour or something. No sleep at all will not do you any good, I can keep watch until then." Gi-hun shook his head, nodding back towards the bunks.
"I got it, go back to sleep. I couldn't rest in this place if I tried, I'd just be lying awake with my eyes closed." In-ho kind of hated how sympathetic he felt for Gi-hun's situation, knowing full well that numbness and ptsd that comes with leaving that place a winner. Gi-hun suddenly stiffened at the sudden feeling on his shoulders.
"W-what are you doing? I told you to go to bed, not strangle me." Gi-hun tried to look behind him where Young-il had moved.
"I'm not strangling you, I'm trying to help you relax. You're so tense all the time, there's no way you're muscles aren't in constant pain." In-ho did his best to rub his shoulders, trying to work the tension out of his shoulders. He worked his way down Gi-hun's back, but rather than relaxing, he seemed to be tensing up more.
"Wha-?" He paused mid word, suddenly noticing Gi-hun biting his lip, a smile tugging at his lips.
"Really? I go to give you a massage to help you relax and you're too ticklish for that?" He asked in disbelief, pressing circles into his back ribs, watching Gi-hun pressing his lips shut tight, arching his back from his hands, gripping his pants.
"Yohohoung-il, peheheople are sleheheeping!" He hissed, trying to turn away from him.
"Are you going to go to bed?"
"Fihihihihine alrihihihight."
"Good, go, I've got the watchtower covered." Young-il gave Gi-hun a pat on the shoulder and a small push, taking his spot on the stairs. Gi-hun would never admit it, but that was actually the best sleep he'd gotten in years.
