Heyooo, my name is Ghosty or Navy, Idc which u call me<3 (for those new comers) I would love to mention the fact I am 16, a MINOR!! I wanna say that all my irl tickle storys have been infact altered to keep my idenity hidden! :) Anywayyysss, I write tickle fanfictions (Usually requested by all you lovely folkss ;0;) and share HCs as well. My requests are ALWAYS open, they never close, so you can ask me questions, ask for fics, or just talk to me .3.
Also heres a look of what I'm working on :P
Fandom list here!!
DNI
-NSFW
-25+ (Bad intentions)
-If your a bad person in general
-rasicts
-Homophobes
-Pedos
-MAPS
MASTERLIST Last Updated: 6/8/26
-Key
-đ»Very Hyperfixated
-đžïžNo longer write
-đ±Somewhat still in the fandom
-đ§żFavorite Charcter to write for
~DSMP/MCYT-đžïž
>Ticklish Body Suit-Lee!D*eam Ler!George (deleting/deleted)
Summary: D*eam uses a bodysuit made for feeling ingame damage
>Movies-Lee!Tommy Switch!Tubbo Ler!Ranboo
Summary: Tommy Tubbo and Ranboo are having a little movie night but Tommy has a super embarrassing secret and Tubbo and Ranboo are about to find out.
>The Worst Thing- Lee!Sapnap Ler!D*eam/George
Summary: Sapnap gets stuck in spider webs while mining with Dream and George. Sapnapâs fear of spiders gets the best of him and Dream and George find how why heâs so scared of them
>Dont Touch Me!-Lee!Techno Ler!Tommy
Summary: Tommy gets bored and started to annoy techno only to find out he's too ticklish for it.
>Whos The Big Man?-Lee!Jschlatt Ler!W*lbur
Summary: Schlatt needed some help with stuff and asked Wilbur to help. Wilbur finds out something about Schlatt.
~Encanto-đžïž
>Aching Back-Lee!Bruno Ler!Mirabel
Summary: Bruno starts to complain about how his back has been hurting, Mirabel comes up with the idea to give him a massage only to find out heâs to ticklish.
~Stranger Things-đžïž
>Request-Lee!Steve Ler!Eddie
Summary: Steve gets stuck under Eddies bed frame, while trying to help him get out, Eddie finds out a little discovery
~SpiderVerse-đ±
>Request-Lee!Hobie Ler!Miguel-đ§ż
Summary/What they asked for: Maybe where hobie has stole something of Miguelâs and hidden it so he tickles the location out of him
>Voodoo Dolls Never Hurt Nobody- Switch! Hobie, Pavitr, Miles
Summary: Pavitr finds some voodoo dolls from the Spider Society's Gadget room, and brings them to Hobies apartment to test them out.
>Request- Lee!Hobie, Miles Ler!Gwen-đ§ż
Summary: silly goober stuff :P (wtf was I writing?)
>Request-Lee!Miles Ler!Lyla/Tickle Belt
Summary/ What they asked for: maybe Lyla showing miles some of the gadgets Miguel and her created? And.. completely forgot about the tickle belt when miles asked what it does. Then when she found the button on the screen to turn it on. Miles is laughing hysterically because he put the belt on. Lyla would stop the belt if she could⊠but sheâs enjoying the moment too much.
>Request- Lee!Miles+Hobie Ler!Gwen
~Total Drama-đžïž
>Buddy Noah!-Lee!Noah Ler!Owen-đ§ż
Summary: Noahs always ment to be sassy or have a frown on so Owen desided to change that
>Request-Lee!Trent Ler!Duncan
Summary: I really dont know what i even wrote,I think it was like 2 in the morning? Basically Trent and Duncan interact on the doc, get mad at eachother and then fight and then somehow tickle eachother?
>You Didnt Say Stop- Lee!Noah Ler!Emma-đ§ż
Summary: Noah and Emma fluff and stuff. Noah being a tired sleepy Lee and Emma just leaning into it.
>Smarty Pants/Request-Lee!Noah Ler!Izzy, Owen, Alejandro, and Tyler-đ§ż
Summary: Noah being annoyed with everbody, Alejandro trys to befriend Noah but pisses him off more. Alejandro talks back and gets cocky enough to tickle him.
>Request-Lee!Duncan Ler!Alejandro
Summary: Duncan pisses off Alejandro and tries to act tough (Hes not)
~Hamilton-đžïž
>Request-Lee!Alexander LerAngelica
Summary: Alexander feels overwhelmed with all his work and Angelica helps him out
~Camp Camp-đ»
>Request- Lee!Max Ler!David-đ§ż
Summary: Max refuses to go to the dock as an activity so he runs away and hide in the forest to not be bothered by anybody. David gets worried and runs to find him.
>Headcanons-Lee!Max-đ§ż
>Request- Lee!Max Ler!Gwen and David-đ§ż
Summary: Max is feeling bummed about his parents and runs away to the forest but David finds him and calms him down.
>Say It!-Lee!Max Ler!Nikki, Neil-đ§ż
Summary: Nikki and Neil had enough with Max just insulting them and decided to finally do something about it!(Takes place before s5)
>Headcanons-Lee!Max Ler!David(Dadvid)-đ§ż
>Headcanons-Lee!David
~Sturniolo Triplets-đ»
>Knock It Off!-Lee!Matt Ler!Chris-đ§ż
Summary: Matt teases Chris until Chris remembers his weakness.
>Headcanons-Everybody is in this Lee and Ler
~The Amazing Digital Circus-đ»
>Not So Tough Now Huh?- Lee!Jax Ler!Ragatha-đ§ż
Summary: Jax finally pushed Ragatha over the edge causeing her to find something out about the annyoing rabbit.
>Dont Be Such A Jerk! (Draft)-Lee!Jax Ler! Ragatha-đ§ż
Summary: Jax angst, Hurt to comfort
>Spill!- Lee!Jax Ler! Ragatha-đ§ż
Summary: (Hurt to comfort) Jax finds himself back at his tree crying until a familiar doll comes to help him. WARNING!! â ïž: Gagging, mentions of puking. Self harm? (Depends on what you call self harm)
>Shiz And Giggles-Lee!Pomni Ler!Ragatha (kinda Jax)
Summary: Still new to the digital world, Ragatha decided to invite Pomni to a sleepover (Unfortunately) including Jax. A disagreement happens, pillow fights, cute pomni x ragatha?
>Request-Lee!Ragatha Ler!Pomni
Summary/ What they asked for:mayhaps jax has been freaking ragatha out with one too many centipedes and pomni or maybe zooble gets to ââdistractââ her from paranoia?
>Headcanons-Lee!Pomni, Jax Ler!Pomni,Jax
> Nightmares- Lee!Jax Ler!Pomni
Summary: After Jax and Pomnis fight, they havenât talked in a while. Jaxâs whole stunt really pushed her away, it isnât until one night where a scream is heard from Jaxâs bed room. Pomni debates on checking up on her old friendâŠ
TW: Mentions of Trypophobia, Tickle fic, FUNNYBUNNY!!
~My Hero Academia-đ±
>Playful-Lee!Katsuki Ler!Izuku-đ§ż
Summary: Izuku and Katsuki have a free day and decide to chill at the dorms, Izuku starts feeling playful after over veiwing Kastuki's phone.
~Arcane-đ±
>Still That Same Olâ Echo, Ekko-Lee!Ekko Ler!Powder-đ§ż
Summary: Ok dude I know this sounds crazy, but Ekkos only been tickled a few times and only by Benzo, Powder, and Vi, but they never actually tickle him itâs kinda like a poke to the side here and there. Now that Ekkos traveled dimensions, he doesnât realize Powders tickled him before, if you get what Iâm saying? PLEASE?
~Medowlark-đ»
>Let Loose-Lee!Perrine Ler!Kingsley-đ§ż
Summary: I donât know if Iâm even aloud to do this but Iâm gonna do it anyways. What Perrine is trying to focus on something with Kingsley to better the group but Kingsley keeps messing around telling them to relax and stuff?
~HOMESTUCKK!!-đ»
>Seriously!!-Lee!John Ler!Dave -đ§ż
Summary: After Dave wins a round John was sure he was going to lose, John just cant accept the fact he lost. Turns out neither can his own body, causing his to do something he may regret later. (Straight Drabble because Iâm still trying to get used to writing for HS charactersâŠ)
>Not Very Scary -Lee!Karkat Ler!Dave+John
Summary: Karkats still getting used to âhumanâ holidays, holloween being a particular one he doesnât seem to grasp. Dave and John feel as if they should take it upon themselves to âeducateâ their poor alien-bug-friend about the spookiness that is Halloween.
Warning: This is a tickle fic! Very OOC!! Mentions of being turned on, slightly nsfw (depends on what you see as nsfw, no sex, just sexual tension) THIS IS NOT KINKY!!! DID I MENTION OOC?
______________________________________________
~Boondocks-đ±
>Headcanons -Lee! Riley+Huey Ler! Riley +Huey
______________________________________________
~Sonic (Movies)-đ±
>Request -Lee! Tails Ler! Sonic+Knucles
Summary: When Tails needs new parts for his project and decides that the TV could be just the right one.
Thank you so much for sending this in! Everyone come read this & show @bexorok some love! & thank you again for submitting this!
âThis is what you wanted to show me?â
After their rapid fire adventure, Pomni had surprisingly gotten to know Jax better. She couldnât say she understood him entirely, and she wasnât on board with his tendency to abuse others for his own entertainment, but there was a different side to him that he was slowly showing. Whenever he wasnât being a complete jerk, he could actually be kind of funny. Not only that, but after some of their conversations, she got the sense that, whether he realized it or not, he needed a friend. Someone, anyone to vent to for just a moment. Before brushing it off and pretending it never happened, of course. Even so, he sought her out specifically to talk to. That had to mean something, even if he would never admit to it.
During one of their conversations, they talked about some of the weird rooms in the circus, and he mentioned one in a hallway that she hadnât gone down yet. He actually offered to show her once the adventure was over and they had some down time.
Just like heâd promised, he led her to a small room at the end of a corridor. Half expecting it to be a trap or a prank, she stood back while he opened the door to reveal what looked like a game room. There was a billiards table in the corner, a couple of couches around a coffee table with cards and board games tucked underneath, even a bookshelf that was filled with what looked like actual novels.
âYeah,â Jax remarked, showing off the space, ânice hang out spot, isnât it?â
âItâs⊠actually pretty normal.â She said, relieved. âI thought your idea of a cool room was something like that weird, tower carousel thing. Or that one door that just has a fist come out and punch you if you open it.â
âI mean those are great choices too, but I figured youâd already seen them. Not as much fun if you're expecting it.â
âI see,â she rolled her eyes. âDo you guys ever use this room?â
âThe others do sometimes. I havenât been here in a minute.â
She couldnât help but notice the way his pupils changed. What was once big and round turned to smaller squares, before going right back to their usual shape. The same thing happened earlier when Ragatha had brought up the fact that he didnât have friends in the circus any more. Maybe he used to come here with them. She doubted he would tell her if she asked.
âSo, why show me this room?â She tried moving on. âDid you want to play a game or something?â She hadnât been expecting him to want to hang out, especially after two back to back adventures. She thought it would have been more of a quick trip before he would slink off to go sleep in his room.
âActually,â he grinned, pulling out a pink bottle from his pocket to show her, âI had a different idea.â
It was one of those squeeze bottles for condiments, except filled with some sort of pink, mystery substance. She recognized it immediately.
âIs that the stupid sauce from the fast food place?â She asked, confused. âHow were you able to keep that?â
âIt isnât hard stealing a prop or two from an adventure,â he chided. âAnd I figured this is the closest thing to drugs as weâre going to get in here.â
It was surprising that Caine would allow something like stupid sauce in the first place. This whole âfamily friendlyâ shtick had been fairly consistent throughout the adventures. Though she had noticed that Caine would sometimes make exceptions, like with the alcohol from the mini bar adventure.
âWait, did you show me this place so we could sit here and get high off that stuff?â She questioned indignantly.
âUm, yeah. Itâs probably the best place in the circus to do that.â
Out of all the things he could have asked to do. Play some cards, shoot some billiard balls, maybe even just sit and talk. No, this was what he wanted to do with their free time? She could understand being curious about the stupid sauce, but there was no way she was about to try it for herself, especially after seeing how Ragatha reacted to it when just a drop got on her.
âJax, we donât even know what that stuff is.â She tried reasoning with him. A fool's errand if sheâd ever known one, but she had to try. âAnd how am I supposed to know that your not just going to try and prank me by getting me high as *BlOink* while you stand there laughing at me?â
Jaxâs grin only grew at that. âCome on, Pompom, do you really have that little faith in me?â
âIâm not even going to dignify that with an answer.â
As much progress they had made on their recent adventure, she still didnât trust him as far as she could throw him, especially with something like this.
âIs it so hard to believe that I just want to see what itâs like? Itâs not every day Caine lets something like this slide.â
âWhy donât you just take it yourself, then?â
The pupils again, starting huge then slowly shrinking while he thought of a response.
âThatâs no fun.â
He didnât want to do it alone. At first she really expected that he was just trying to trick her into taking it for his own, twisted amusement, but something about him seemed to genuinely want to do this.
âGosh, I thought you would know that itâs no fun getting blasted by yourself. What, are you too much of a goodie too shoes to get high?â He taunted.
Sheâd smoked a couple of times in college when she was offered, but smoking a little weed was WAY different than just eating some weird sauce that Caine came up with.
âIâve been high before,â she rolled her eyes. âHave you?â
Again, a slight shift in his expression. During one of their conversations earlier, heâd mentioned that he was 22 when he arrived in the circus, making him the youngest one out of the group, barely past the legal drinking age where they were from. Thinking back on it, that was about the age she tried an edible for the first time. Depending on how he grew up and where he was from, he probably never got the chance to do something like this before.
She thought back to the bar they had been at on the previous adventure. Could that have been his first real experience with alcohol? He had seemed to get much more loose after that drink, maybe because it was his first real drink. If that was his first time feeling drunk, was he just wanting to try out a bunch of things heâs never gotten to experience before?
She almost felt bad for him for a second. His entire young adult life and experiences had been taken away before he even got to try living them. But chasing these experiences heâd been robbed of was going to end badly.
âLook, I get it, I miss having the choices we had out there. Weâre adults, if we want to drink or smoke we should be able to. But we have no idea what that will actually do to us here, and we canât just trust Caine to be honest about it either. No way am I eating something like that.â
Something changed in his expression as he looked at the sauce in his hands. It was as if he put two and two together, like he was starting to process what the sauce really was. Some strange way Caine got around not being able to affect their minds directly. A loophole in his own rules.
And as usual, as quickly as it happened, it disappeared as he sported his usual smirk.
âJeez, if Iâd known you would be lame about it I wouldnât have asked. You think Zooble would be into this stuff?â
Out of everyone there, Zooble was the most likely to have been a stoner at one point. Pomni wasnât going to say that now though.
âThereâs no way theyâd try anything like that in this place, especially not if you offered.â
âGood point. Oh, I bet I could convince Gangle to try some.â
There it was, back to his usual prick attitude. She wasnât sure if he was serious about finding and harassing Gangle over the stupid sauce or if this was just his way of messing with her, but she sure as hell wasnât risking it. She had to get rid of that stuff before things got out of hand.
âYou are not going out there to peer pressure Gangle into eating this weird *bOnK*-ing sauce. Now give me that.â She tried making a lunge to grab the bottle out of his hands.
âHey- come on!â He pulled the bottle away, âI just want to see whatâll happen.â
âYou know whatâs going to happen already. That stuff completely messed up Ragatha for, like, the whole day.â
âYeah, all the more reason to get someone else to test it first. Maybe it affects everyone differently.â
She thought back to when sheâd learned about how their different avatars reacted differently to some things, like with the breath holding. She also remembered him taunting her into showing him what her âcartoon bodyâ would do.
âOf course you never planned on eating it yourself! You just want to get someone to trip out of their mind.â
âI never said that.â The grin on his face grew back to its usual, cartoonish proportions. âBut now that you mention it, that would be pretty entertaining!â
âJust give me that thing, we shouldnât have it in the first place.â She managed to grab a hold of it as he tried to keep it from her reach. She squeezed trying to get a grip on it, accidently putting more pressure than she intended.
In a second, the pink substance shot from the bottle and hit Jax directly in his eye.
âOh *sQeAk*!â She yelled.
He flinched suddenly, wincing back as he tried to wipe it away. For a moment he looked fine, but just as it had with Ragatha, it all hit at once. His body relaxed and his eyes went wide. From Pomniâs perspective, all she could see was his pupils dilating as he stood frozen in place, still holding the bottle. Theyâd gotten so large that almost his entire eye looked black
âCrap, are you okay?â
âI- I feelâŠâ he doubled over for a moment, bringing his hands to his stomach as he slouched.
Dang it, was he going to be sick? That was a lot of sauce. What if he took too much for his mind to handle? Was overdosing a thing in the digital world? Would Caine be able to fix him? All of these worries ran through Pomniâs head as she started hearing him make a strained, breathy noise.
His shoulders shook as the noise started getting louder, and she placed what it was. He wasnât getting sick or panicking, he was-
âAre you laughing?â
He giggled as he steadied himself upright and she was able to see his face. His smile was different than usual, it was a wide, dopey grin, like he was half asleep and struggling to stay awake.
âI just- ahahahahaha! I feel weird!â
Without realizing it, or maybe he was too out of it to care, he dropped the pink bottle and let it roll on the floor, straight to Pomniâs feet.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she picked it up. Looks like the stupid sauce did affect everyone a little differently. When Ragatha accidentally got some on her sheâd been fully relaxed, no cares in the world as she spoke her mind for once with no filter. Jax on the other hand turned out to be a giggler. Most stoners will tell you that everything is way funnier when you're high as a kite, and that was how Jax probably felt at the moment.
âOkay, you're fine. You're just going to⊠be like this for a while.â She sighed, already planning on getting rid of that damn bottle when she got the chance. âItâll take a long time to wear off. You should lie down somewhere.â
Jax tried taking a wobbling step before nearly tripping over his own feet. âWhoa, my legs are like jelly right now. Thatâs crazy!â
She could just leave, let Jax ride this out on his own, but one look at how he was struggling to walk had her second guessing. He couldnât truly get hurt, but there were worse things to worry about. What if being stuck like this for too long could cause someone to abstract? Stuck in a room, alone, out of your mind and helpless to do anything about it while you slipped away? That was a fate too cruel for anyone. Pomni couldnât just leave him there, even if it was his fault he was in this situation. Well, maybe it was just a little bit her fault too.
âAlright, let me just help you to the couch.â She reached out to grab him, hoping she could support his weight.
âNo,â he swatted her away defensively, slurring his words. âI can do it, I swear.â
Clumsily, he put one foot in front of the other, grabbing whatever he could to stabilize himself as he made his way across the room, then flopping face first down on the couch.
âSee, did it.â He mumbled into the cushion. âI win.â
âSure Jax, you win.â She followed him over. The couch was long enough for him to lay down comfortably, but no room for her to sit without him moving. âCan I sit here?â
He gave a grunt as rolled himself over, bending his knees to make space for her. She was almost surprised that he didnât just make her take the other couch. She was more surprised when after she sat down, he laid his legs in her lap.
âJax,â she groaned.
âWhaaaat? You're sitting on the couch now.â
She supposed she didnât mind, as long as he didnât plan on kicking her.
âI guess Iâm trip sitting for the rest of the day.â
âYoooooou could still try some,â Jax grinned, âwe could be stupid sauce buds.â
âAbsolutely not, thatâs the last thing we need.â
âBoooooooo! Lame!â
Great. She had a whole day of this to look forward to. Not that time really mattered there, but she would have at least appreciated a nap at some point. She considered dozing off on the couch, but she had a feeling leaving Jax unattended for even a few minutes was a bad idea. She couldn't take her eyes off him for a minute.
Then again, looking at Jax now made her doubt he could do much of anything in this state. He was lounged back, but instead of his usual, cocky posture he was fully limp, looking around constantly at seemingly nothing with wide eyes. It was enough to almost make her think he was harmless.
He started giggling quietly to himself. She couldnât tell if he was laughing at her or at whatever he was seeing around him, but he wouldnât stop.
âWhatâs so funny?â She finally broke, asking with an amused grin of her own.
âSo, Pompom. You know how cats hate water?â He rambled.
âWhat? I mean, yeah, I guess.â
âBut they like fish. And fish love water. Theyâre in water.â He giggled deliriously. âWhatâs up with that?â
She tried to comprehend where the hell that thought could have come from. Trying to understand it just made it make even less sense.
âPfft! What the heck are you talking about right now?â
âIâm saying itâs weird. Like, whatâs up with that?â
âThat makes no sense,â she replied, trying her best to contain her laughter.
âYou're right, it doesnât make sense. They should love water, itâs where the fish live!â
âThis is going to be a long day, isnât it?â
Even as she sighed to herself she couldnât help but smile. She had thought that Jax would get on her nerves after a while, but she had to admit that his crazed ramblings were pretty funny.
âHey Pom, whatâs a didgeridoo player called?â Jax continued.
âA didgeri-what?â
âYou know, didgeridoo. The big tube things the Australian guys play, that's all Wooooomp.â He made a tube with his hands and tried to imitate the deep, bass notes that usually come from the instrument, but he made it sound more like a drunk whale.
âI have no idea,â she replied.
âMaybe a didgeridooer. That makes sense, right?â
âNone of what youâre saying makes sense at all.â She snickered. âAre you thinking about that because of the president adventure? The one where you were supposed to be Australian?â
âHehe, yeah. See, now you're getting it.â
âGuess you're just processing the adventures in your own way.â
Now she was starting to see a thought pattern. A mix of passive thoughts and his brains attempt to make sense of the day they had. Even then it was hard to keep up with the rapid fire statements.
âOh, the vegan thing.â He groaned suddenly as he face palmed.
âThe vegan thing?â She asked. âYou mean from earlier? What about it?â
âIt was so dumb, right? Iâm just vegan now.â
His vegan status had been removed for a while, but for the time being he probably had the memory of a goldfish.
âYou know it stopped once the adventure was over, right?â
âOh. Yeah.â He mused, before getting the biggest grin on his face. âHey Poooooom. If two vegans got into a fight, would it be considered a beef?â
As stupid as that joke was, Pomni laughed out loud at it. âI donât know, Jax. Did you bring up the vegan thing just to say that?â
âNah, thatâs just improv, baby.â
She hated how funny she thought this was.
âStohohop talking!â
âIâm just asking the big questions here. Like if I were vegan still, could I eat animal crackers?â
âOhoho my gosh, shuhuhut up.â She said, playfully shoving him.
Jax rolled onto his side, curling up his legs and clutching his stomach in laughter.
This was the most sheâd ever heard him laugh before. Thinking back, it might have been the first time she heard him laugh ever. For all his talk about wanting to âsee funny things happen to peopleâ, he never actually seemed to laugh at anything. Maybe a smirk or a quick breath through the nose, but nothing like this. It was different than she expected it would sound, high pitched and almost wheezy at times. It suited him.
âPom. Hey, Pompom.â He asked when he could finally stop himself from laughing. He started prodding her leg with his foot to get her attention.
âWhat? Ow- hey! Knock it off. What is it?â
âCan you take off your hat? Or is it, like, part of your body?â
She thought about it for a moment. Sheâd tried taking her hat off before, but it only stretched out, along with her face.
âI guess itâs part of me, I canât really take it off.â
âIs it still a hat, then?â
âI⊠gah, stop asking questions I canât answer!â
âPoor Pom, canât braid your hair or anything.â He slowly sat up and scooted closer to her, a hand going for the hat.
âJax- I just told you it doesnât come off!â She tried to scoot away.
âI knowwww. I want to see the puff ball things.â
Her jester hat had two, little puffs on the ends. She never paid much attention to them, but for some reason Jax seemed especially fixated on them. He grabbed hold of one, actually gentle for once, before he gave a little tug. To her surprise, the pompom actually came off.
âYessss!â He cheered, âCan I borrow this?â
âWhat? Why do you want it?â
âI want to see if it can be my tail. I miss my old one.â
That was something else from the adventure heâd mentioned, at some point in time he had a tail that he lost. She still had no idea why or how he lost it.
He tried to maneuver his body so that he could somehow see where his tail would have been. As expected, he only managed to roll over on the couch.
âPfft, Jahahax!â Pomni snickered. âThatâs not going to work.â
âSays yoooou,â he scoffed as he continued his impossible task, endlessly rolling in place.
âYou should be resting,â she tried putting her hands on his legs to stop him when he came around again.
For whatever reason, he actually stopped once he was facing her.
âFiiiine. But Iâm keeping this.â He said, showing off the pompom in his hand.
âHey! I didnât say you could keep it.â
âFinders keepers. Pompom from Pompom, itâs mine now.â
âWould you give that back?â She reached over to grab it, only for him to lift it over his head. âWhy do you want it if you canât use it?â
âSouvenir.â He simply said.
It was stupid, she knew. He was obviously trying to get on her nerves, and was somewhat succeeding, but there was something different about the way he was taunting her. It felt more playful, like someone goading a friend into a wrestling match.
âI said give it back,â she laughed as she finally gave in, leaping from her spot on the couch, trying to climb on his legs to properly reach far enough. She managed to straddle them as she tried to snatch the pompom from his hands, only for him to somehow stretch it even further from her reach.
âWhy donât you maaaake me?â He taunted.
Now he was clearly asking for it. If it was a play fight he wanted, it was a play fight he would get.
âThatâs it,â she reached forward to scribble her fingers underneath his arms.
She was expecting him to flinch and bring his arms down long enough for her to snag the stolen pompom. What she wasnât expecting was for Jax to flail so hard that he nearly knocked her to the side, squeaking so loud it made her jump in surprise. He crossed his arms around his chest, protecting his underarms.
âNohoho tickling! Not allowed!â
âWow,â she laughed, âAre you seriously that ticklish?â
His face started flushing red as his laughter picked up again.
âNoooo Iâm not!â He brought his hands over his face, trying to hide his sheepish grin while still holding on to the pompom.
âYouâre not what?â
âMm not ticklish.â He mumbled into his hands.
âUm, yes, you definitely are.â
She wasn't sure if this was his usual deflecting or if he didnât remember that she literally just saw him burst into laughter after she brought her hands down.
âNoooo,â he continued to argue. âTickling just isnât allowed.â
âWha- That means that you're ticklish!â
âNo it doesnât.â
âOh really?â She smirked, shifting her weight until she was seated on his legs. She poked at his side, making him jump as immediately broke, swatting away at the offending hand.
âY-yeah. Not ticklish. Nooooooope.â Despite his argument, the nervous grin didnât leave his face.
âOh, so I can keep doing this-â Pomni brought her hands down to his sides, squeezing just underneath his ribs. âAnd you wonât mind?â
âPohohohohom! Nohohohoho!â He protested through another bout of laughter. âI sahahahaid not ahahahallowed!â
He would have probably kept this argument up all day if she didnât do something. She could just drop the topic, but he was still holding that pompom in his hand, and she wasnât going to let him get away with it.
âIâll only stop if you give me back my pompom.â With that she suddenly jumped back to tickling under his arms. He brought his arms back down, trying to block the sensation as he threw his head back in laughter. He managed to keep the pompom tucked away in his hand.
âAh! Nohohoho fair! Youâre cheheheheating!â
âCheating?â She scoffed, âThis wasnât even a game! Just give it back and Iâll stop.â
âNhehehehever!â
He turned his body away as quickly as he could, breaking her grip as he rolled on his side. He tried to stealthily put the pompom in his front overall pocket, hoping that Pomni wouldnât notice.
Pomni had seen it plain as day. He wasn't nearly as slick as he thought he was being. Without wasting any time, she reached swiftly into his pocket and grabbed it back.
âThere!â She shouted triumphantly.
Jax weakly reached for it as she sat back up, scooting back over to her side of the couch. She was able to attach the little ball onto her hat again.
âNice try, Jax.â She gloated.
Jax was unusually quiet, eyes looking down. It almost looked like he was pouting. What, was he really hoping to keep that pompom forever? Even if heâd managed to successfully hide it, she probably would have just kept tickling him until he gave it up. It seemed like a weird thing to be a sore loser about, but maybe his ego was just that fragile. She wouldnât have been surprised.
âYouâre no fun,â He finally said.
âYou can find your own tail later,â She lightly scolded. âMaybe Caine can give you a new one.â
He didnât seem to lighten up at the suggestion. Whatever this was, it wasnât about the tail thing. She was about to ask what was wrong when she saw his loopy smirk.
âPom, Iâm boaaaaard.â He complained, all while his smile morphed into something more mischievous.
Oh yeah, she was going to have to find something to occupy him until this whole thing blew over. Or until he wiped himself out enough to sleep the rest of this off.
âOh, do you want to try to do something?â
âYeah, but I donât want to get uuuuuuuup.â
Pomni rolled her eyes at him. Even when he was high off his ass he was so demanding. âI could grab a board game or something, maybe we could play monopoly.â
âHmmmm, I donât know, I think this would be more entertaining.â
âWhat do you- hey!â She was interrupted as she felt a jab to her side. Jax had managed to poke her side with his foot, actually managing to tickle her back.
âJahahax! Stohohohp that!â She tried to push his legs away, but he was strong and held out.
Sheâd almost forgotten just how ticklish she was, at least in the real world. Jax seemed real keen on reminding her about it.
âDo something fun, then I miiiiight stop.â He kept poking and prodding her side, gentle enough that it didnât hurt, but firm enough that it tickled like hell.
âKnohohohock it off!â She yelled, half annoyed and half amused by him. âUgh, you're so annoying!â
âCmon, Pompom, do something funny. Youâre a clown, right?â
âWhahahat does that have to do with anything?â She swatted at his legs, hoping he would relent with a hard enough smack.
âJust do something funny, make me laugh!â
âI was making you laugh a lot earlier. Did you forget about all of that?â
Just like earlier, his face flushed as he averted his eyes.
Pomni started piecing it together. The constant pestering and comments, even when he knew he was helpless and couldnât fight back. The bashful look on his face when she commented on it. He was trying to goad her into tickling him. Heâd put the pompom in his pocket, not in the hopes of keeping it, but so she would tickle him into giving it up eventually.
âAre you trying to get me to tickle you again?â
Jax froze completely, staring up at her. It was hard to read his expression. Somewhere between surprise and embarrassment. In the blink of an eye it disappeared as he went back to lightly kicking her sides. âIâm just looking for something entertaining.â
Of course he would never admit that he wanted something. Even in this state of delirium, without cares or worries, heâd still rather taunt someone into retaliation than actually ask for something.
Well, she understood what he was trying to accomplish. If he wanted to be entertained so badly, why not give him what he wanted?
âAlright. Just remember, you asked for this.â With that final warning she grabbed a hold of his legs, hopping over them so she could hold them down with her body weight before she squeezed his waist.
âPohohohompom! Wahahahahahait!â He broke, bucking his hips in a halfhearted attempt to get her to fall off. Pomni held tight, refusing to move.
âPfft, you literally asked me to make you laugh! What were you expecting?â
âIhihihihihihi- nohohohohohohoooo!â He was in no position to argue with that. His arms failed helplessly as he tried to grab at her hands to get them to stop moving. His grip was so weak that he couldnât even hold on. âYouhohohoho suhuhuhuck!â
She gasped playfully. âI suck? You asked me to make you laugh, and that's what Iâm doing.â She started to spider her fingers up and down his sides, feeling his body shake as his laughter rose with each touch.
âWhere else are you ticklish?â She asked.
âI- hehehehehe- I dohohohohohohnât know!â He insisted as he made another attempt to grab her hands, able to gently grasp the wrist but putting up no real resistance.
âYouâre such a liar, of course you know!â
âYoooouâre the liar,â Jax snickered.
âThat doesnât even make sense!â She laughed, quickly reaching her hands to scribble along his neck. He scrunched up his shoulders at the contact, trying desperately to keep her fingers at bay. His laughter started to settle, but it was clear he was trying to hold it back.
âNot the best spot,â Pomni mused, shifting her reach to gently trace his ears instead.
âPom!â He whined, bringing his hands up to try and cover his ears. Unfortunately for him they were too big to block completely, leaving the ends exposed for Pomni to continue. Light as a feather, she scratched the ends of his ears. Jax kept laughing, but he almost seemed to relax at the touch, as if he was melting into it. Pomni wouldnât have believed the sight if it wasnât happening right in front of her.
âBetter,â she stated, âbut I bet you have a spot thatâs way worse than this.â
He almost seemed disappointed as she stopped, but the expression was quickly replaced by anticipation as he watched her hands hover above his torso, scanning for where to strike next. They settled right over his belly, dipping down to test the waters. He let out a wheezing, nearly screeching laugh before her hands could make contact.
âI didnât even touch you!â She laughed. âIs this a bad spot?â
âNohohohoho itâs nohohohot!â Now that was definitely a lie.
âReally? It sure sounded bad. Is your tummy your worst spot?â
âDohohohohnât call it that!â His frantic giggling grew louder as he curled in, arms wrapping around his torso to protect himself.
âWhat? Donât call it your tummy?â
âYehehehehes! Itâs stupid!â Somehow the pink hue to his face grew even darker.
âWhat, you donât want me saying you have a ticklish tummy? I hate to break it to you, but you do!â
âNohohohoho!â He practically begged. âNohohohot allowed!â
âWell yeah, if you keep covering yourself like that.â Pomni wasnât very strong, but Jax was nearly wiped out at this point. Any resistance to her pulling his arm to the side was futile as she used her knee to pin his hand down to the couch, followed by doing the same to the other side.
âThere, now those canât get in the way.â
Jax wasnât responding anymore, the only noise he was able to make were soft giggles as he squinted his eyes shut, anticipating whatever would happen next.
âSo, youâre still not ticklish, right? You wonât laugh if I bring down my hands and tickle your tummy? Because it's not ticklish?â
âJuhuhuhuhst gehehehet it over with!â He finally shouted.
Pomni had no idea teasing like this could be so effective against him, but he looked flustered out of his mind. She felt mean for just a moment, holding him in suspense like this, but after thinking about all the shit heâd put her through before, she figured she was entitled to at least this as revenge.
âAlright, if you really want me to.â Putting him out of his misery, she gently kneaded at his belly. It almost felt plush, soft the way a stuffed animal would feel, but with a bit of added resistance. As she curiously pressed into him, Jax nearly deafened her as he screamed.
âNOHOHOHOHO! *hOnK* YOHOHOHOU!â He flailed his body, seemingly involuntarily, trying to pull his arms free to no avail.
With his eyes squinted shut, he kicked his feet behind her body. Whether it was an attempt to get her off of him or an involuntary response to the intense tickling, she couldnât tell.
âWow, you even kick your feet like a rabbit!â She laughed as she felt him thrash. She had to admit, this teasing thing was pretty fun. Especially when her victim was Jax, and especially when he was acting like this.
âYouhohohohur crahahahazy!â
She wondered if he was sober would he have ever let her do this? Would he have actually wanted her to do something like this all along, or was this just from the stupid sauce? She supposed it could just be a strange side effect, craving something along the lines of physical stimulation. But maybe there was some part of him that actually wanted this. To be able to laugh freely. The mask he wore had been coming down lately, sheâd seen just bits and pieces of who he really was and wanted to be. Was this something that he craved deep down?
Without even realizing it, sheâd slowed her relentless scribbling down to a gentle trace along his sides, letting him catch his breath while he still squeaked out the occasional laugh.
He giggled up at her, looking with dreamy, teary eyes. She wondered what he saw from his perspective at that moment, questioning whether he was really looking at her or something else.
âHehehehe! Hehe- heâŠ.â He took a deep, long breath that almost sounded like a sigh. âI missed this.â
Pomni raised an eyebrow. âWhat do you mean?â
âThis. You always were the best at making me laugh, Rib-â he trailed off, seemingly lost in thought, before his eyes widened. For just a moment he seemed to have some sort of clarity, like he realized he said something he didnât mean to.
âNothing.â
The pupils went back to how they were before, and his lazy, blissful smile returned to his face.
âWhat weâre we talking about?â
A strange feeling washed over Pomni, making her finally get up to release him from his constraints. Jax rubbed his hands, which were probably sore. She couldnât tell if he remembered what had happened.
âHey Pooooom.â He said lazily. âYouâre kind of cool I guess. Even if you're weeeeeird.â
She smiled gently. âYeah, I guess you arenât that bad either.â
The rest of their time together was spent trying to play board games, only to give up 5 minutes in to play around with the colorful pieces and cards. More crazed ramblings that Pomni couldnât help but find hilarious as she laughed more than she ever had before entering the circus. And eventually, when the weariness of the day wore on him, Jax started snoring loudly on the couch. Pomni thought about finding a blanket, maybe something both she and him could share, but decided against it, not knowing how heâd react once the sauce wore off. She remained awake to keep an eye on him, busying herself with the books that were up on the shelves in the small nook in the corner of the room.
Eventually, all good things must come to an end. She noticed that Jaxâs snoring stopped and she heard a groan from the couch.
âUhhhh. What happened?â Jax asked, a hand to his forehead.
Pomni was seated on the other couch, a book still in hand before she set it aside.
âYou, ah, accidentally got some sauce in your eye.â She said, trying to break it gently to him. âOh! Donât worry, I made sure nothing bad happened. You might just feel a little bit⊠Off for a while.â
He groaned as he sat up, probably groggy from the ordeal. He glanced sideways at her before giving an incredulous squint.
âI didnât do anything⊠Weird, did I?â
She thought about how to respond to that. How much did he actually remember? She had a feeling that if he knew what he had said, everything he had done, would have made him furious. Maybe it was for the best that he didn't remember what occurred.
âNo, you were just mostly tired the whole time.â She lied.
She tried to read his face, hoping that he would believe her. For a moment, a look of recognition crossed his face, and he looked upset. That was before he went back to sporting his usual grin as he yawned.
âWell, guess that was a waste of time,â he said, stretching as he stood up. Without even acknowledging her, he made his way to the door.
She stared as he left, wondering if he truly didnât remember anything. He was about to open the door when he turned back to her, eyes narrowed.
âIf you tell anyone about what happened, Iâll find another truck to throw you out of.â His face was nearly deadpan as he threatened her.
Pomni nervously looked around, hoping to find the right thing to say. âNothing happened. Nothing to tell them about.â
Eyes still narrowed, he opened the door. âThats what I thought,â He murmured as he finally left.
Maybe it really was just a trick of the stupid sauce making him say and do all those things. Maybe she would never see him act like that again. But deep down she hoped that it wasnât. That sheâd finally seen a bit of who he truly was, and that she would be able to see it again.
Hi! I noticed the Sonic Movies are on your fandom list!
Would you be willing to write a Lee!Tails and Ler!Sonic and Ler!Knuckles fic?
Itâs completely okay if not! I just thought Iâd ask! :)
Iâd love too! This might come out and you might forget you even requested this⊠srry abt that!!
Lee: Tails
Ler: Sonic, Knuckles
Summary: When Tails needs new parts for his project and decides that the TV could be just the right one.
Note: I have terrible perception of time, so sorry this came out like months after you requested! Also if it sounds rushed, Iâm so sorry!!
Things were relatively normal in the Wachowski house hold. Well, as normal as 3 âalienâ life forms running around the home like it was their personal playground. To be fair, it wasnât their fault they were trusted to be home alone for so long.
âAww guys thatâs not fair!!â A smaller yellow fox screamed, leading the sprinting group through the living room.
âItâs as fair as I say it is, and I say itâs totally fair!â The blue hedgehog yelled back, trailing close behind.
The two tailed fox dodged every attempt of capture from the blue one, for he wasnât leading anything but rather avoiding consequences.
See, before this whole fiasco went down, it was actually peaceful for once. Tails was minding his own while Sonic and Knuckles were down the hall playing their own games on the TV.
Tailsâ only mistake was that the machine he was tinkering with needed a different power source than what he originally prepared for. The whole project wouldnât even function correctly if he used what he had on hand.
It was almost as if an angel called to him and guided him to the TV. It had a reasonable power bank, being plugged into the house and all, more importantly it had what Tails needed. Now Tails was no stranger to being sneaky and taking what he wanted, heâs done it hundreds of times, heâs the main reason Tom needs to buy so many alarm clocks.
What Tails failed to realize is that the second he took the source from their old boxy TV, the TV would turn off. He cursed himself for forgetting that obvious fact. As the screen went black, Sonic and Knuckles snapped out of their video game daze and right to the culprit.
âWhat was that!?â He loudly gestured to the black TV.
âI was about to kick this hedgehogs butt!â The red one furrowed his brows.
âW-weelll!! U-uh-hmmâŠâ Tails looked awkwardly to the side, trying to think of any excuse to get him out of this. He could see this going of two ways, he could tell the truth and get his butt kicked, or he could lie and get his butt kicked anyways. He was working with a lose lose situation.
The two tailed one suddenly dropped the technology he held and sprinted out of the room, making sure to shut the door behind him to slow the others down.
Sonic wasnât slow to bolt after him, busting the door open and darting down the hall. He raced after him, and while he was in fact faster than Tails, he always liked the chase in things.
And now we are back to where things are, Tails rounded the couch while Sonic stayed on the other side. Like a game of cat and mouse, when the smaller one made a move, the bluer one made an opposite move. He was officially trapped.
âCmon Sonic! I didnât mean to mess up your game!â He whined, keeping his guard up and eyes fixed on the hedgehog.
âI know you didnât mean to! But the angry part in me is telling me that thatâs irrelevant!â Sonic paced from the other end of the couch, watching the way Tails mirrored him.
Tailed let out a small fearful whine, finding himself stuck in this position he knew would end in his own demise sooner or later. How much later, he didnât know exactly but he was hoping itâd be far much later than soon.
Suddenly, Sonicâs expression almost flicked to a small victorious one. He eased and smiled, something that definitely scared Tails. As the yellow one examined closer, Sonic wasnât even looking at him, he was looking behind him.
Before Tails could whip around, two red arms wrapped around the fox and hoisted him off the ground. The echidna let out a small grunt and he picked up Tails who squeaked once he was in the air.
âI got you!â The red one exclaimed proudly in a deep voice, squeezing Tails and pinning his arms by his side.
âSee Tails, youâre only force my hand when you run from me!â The blue one grinned, walking around the couch and closer to him.
Tails kicked and squirmed, âPut me down!â He demanded. Yet the others didnât seem to listen, Knuckles only hugged tighter and Sonic only laughed.
Tails hated when Sonic got like this, âevil and full of powerâ. He wasnât really evil, of course itâs all just an act, a bit, a funny role he liked to put on just to raise the stakes of things. He was over all rather playful with the whole thing.
âI didnât mean to!! I forgot the TV would turn off!â Tails pleaded, shaking his head as Sonic got closer.
âYou forgot the TV would turn off the second you took all its insides out?â Sonic raised a brow.
âAn honest mistake!â
âSometimes I forget to take the spoon out the bowl when I use the microwave.â Knuckles reasoned.
âOk, but I do that too.â Sonic replied.
âWe all do!â Tails kicked.
âYou distracted me! How could you!â Knuckles poked Tailsâ right side with his left hand, earning a yelp from the fox.
Tails started to squirm more, the realization hitting as soon as he made eye contact with Sonic. Knuckles poked again, the yellow one jolted and let a giggle escape his throat.
âAh! I forgot you were ticklish!â The red one exclaimed, now wiggling a finger into his side.
âNohoHOHO!! Let me GoOHOhohooo!â Tails shook his head.
âNot so fast! Youâre the one who interrupted me and knuckles video game time.â Sonic reached out to Tailsâ left side, giving a repetitive squeeze that shook the poor fox.
âAHA-HAA! NOhohOHOHO!!â Tails suddenly jolted in knucklesâ grasp. It was like he was being electrocuted by the ticklish sensation.
Sonics hand started to explore, slowly trailing up his side and scratching at his lower ribs. Tails squeaked, tossing his head back into knuckles chest and cackling.
âTHAHATS NOT FAHAHAIRR!!â He gasped as the hand started to move upwards. Knuckles kept his hand by Tails side, wiggling his fingers near his stomach every once in a while just to get a squeal out of him.
âJeez bud I forget how ticklish you really are.â Sonic slowed his attack, leaving Tails to loose giggles.
âYohou guys are soho mehean!â Tails managed to say through his laughter.
Knuckles held him up before laying him down onto the nearby couch. Sonic crossed his arms and shifted his foot onto his other foot.
âYou better know how to put the TV guts back into the TV.â He joked as the yellow ones tails started to twitch.
â⊠about thatâŠâ Tails looked up at them cautiously only to be met with both of their disappointed eyes.
âN-NoNoNONO!! IM SORHEHEEYY!!â The fox managed to say, as both boys came closing in.
Hello âšâŒïž I saw that The Boondocks was on your fandom list so is it okay if I request some tickle headcanons with Huey and Riley Freeman? Totally cool if not, thoughâno pressure đ!
No, all pressure! To me! I need to start writing again!! (Sorry this is like 10 months oldđ)
I was starting this with saying my computer crashed while I was writing half of this⊠so yeah maybe I was discouraged for 2 weeks because all my progress was gone.
Huey Freeman:
Definitely pretends he doesnât like it, we all know he longs for it.
I like to pretend that because heâs older(?) he misses the times where he could laugh freely, and sure, maybe tickling is one of the best ways he could express it.
Has a spot on his scalp that he cannot handle other people touching or else heâll freak out, itâs near the bottom of his crown. Any pressure to it and heâs laughing like crazy.
Hates those head massagers where it fits over your head with a handle and has little balls at the end of it. Kinda looks like an octopus..
Canât handle massages, his neck isnât even ticklish that much, itâs his shoulders.
Evil when he wants to be (Ler wise)
Mostly on the giving end rather than the receiving end. He likes it that way, just so he doesnât have to think about enjoying any of it.
Uses tickling as punishment, playful punishment nonetheless but still punishment.
Heâs more ticklish on his lower body than his upper body.
Yells insensitive insults when heâs getting wrecked, you can see it right? Sure they maybe factually correct but itâs still insensitive.
Giggles like crazy in a nonchalant way.
BIIGGG shoulder scruncher, donât matter where you touch himđ
Hates when he has tickle fights with Jasmine, just because he loses every time.
Beats the shit out of Riley, like seriously the devil when it comes to tickling his brother.
I have the feeling he LIKES to tease but he canât come up with anything other than narrating what his lee is doing.
âYouâre laughing like crazy!â
âThe squirmy type are we?â
âAre you giggling?!â
You get it.
Riley Freeman
RASPY RASPY RASPY GIGGLES!!
Snorts, he def snorts.
Iâve got a feeling heâs very much upper body ticklish, easy access if you get what I mean⊠(ech-hem⊠the reason Huey always wins tickle fights)
I can see him being the âcome and get me, you wonâtâ type of playful.
Like hide behind and run around the couch kind of kid.
The spot on the back of his ribs⊠thatâs all⊠itâs deadly
When he gets tickled, he just freezes in place.
Like if you tickle his sides, heâll hold his elbows close to his body and just collapse with his upper body just frozen like that.
Hates the âlift your arms because youâve trapped my handsâ he absolutely cannot handle it one bit.
Gets very embarrassed when heâs tickled in public, tickings a private thing for him.
Unlike Huey, heâll shout anything insulting at his Ler, donât matter who you are.
He enjoys tickling to an extent, he does crave it sometimes.
He actually doesnât mind being pinned when tickled, doesnât matter how many times heâll call it gay, heâs only saying that to taunt.
Again, sorry for this being almost a whole year old, I wonât say Iâm busy bc thatâs not at all what Iâve been doing. Iâve just lacked motivation and my memoryâs been going a lil cray cray recently so I forgot this was even in my drafts
Wylan does NOT appreciate being put on babysitting duty. But he doesn't exactly mind the way Jesper has chosen to entertain himself.
âMerchling!â
Wylan held back a tired sigh as he finished mixing up a new experimental compound, carefully placing the beaker in a stand in the hopes of not blowing them all up. Reluctantly, he turned to face Jesper, who had apparently grown bored of twirling his revolvers around and was now in search of some new entertainment.
Which, apparently, would come in the form of bothering Wylan.
Oh joyous day.
He shucked off his gloves and pushed his goggles up into his hair before turning around. The gunslinger was striding up to him with purpose, eyes locked at a point over his shoulder, and Wylan immediately straightened up and positioned himself more protectively in front of his materials.
âOh, come on!â Jesper complained as he came to a stop in front of him. âAm I not allowed to be curious? Hey, whatâs that do?â
He went to reach for something on the table, but Wylan was quick to smack his hand away.
âNo touching! These are very, very combustible.â Jesper still looked tempted, so Wylan added, âI donât need you killing us both because you decided to use my explosives as juggling balls.â
Honestly, Wylan felt like he was over-exaggerating a little, but when he saw the way Jesperâs shoulder sagged a little, he realized that it actually might not be that far out of the realm of possibility. The realization opened the door for a new layer of anxiety to settle within him that Wylan hadnât even realized he should be worrying about.
Jesper crossed his arms, which calmed Wylanâs nerves a bit, and said, âYouâre no fun. Why donât you go ahead and mix up a smaller bomb for us to set off?â
The worst part was that Jesper looked genuinely proud of his suggestion. Wylan had to consciously remind himself not to just turn on his heel and leave Jesper here.
Unsupervised.
With the explosives.
See, when Kaz had left both him and Jesper behind, he never said that Wylan was on babysitting duty. It was mostly a lot of pointed, vaguely threatening looks from him and sympathetic pats on the shoulder from everyone else that got the point across.
It was obvious that Jesper wasnât happy about it, but this part of the con was taking place in a gambling den, so Kaz had left him with strict orders to stay put. No matter how terrifying Kaz was, or how heartless people knew he could be, he cared about Jesper.
On some level, Jesper knew that, he wouldnât have agreed to stay behind otherwise.
Those two had a strong bond. It was obvious to anyone who knew where to look.
Or, at least, it was to Wylan, who spent half of his time trying to emulate Kazâs body language and the other half trying to convince himself that it was normal to stare at Jesper. Everyone did it. He was objectively attractive
âEarth to Wylan? Anyone in there?â Wylan blinked a couple times as Jesper snapped his fingers in front of his eyes. âWhere did you go?â
Wylan could feel his face warming under Jesperâs concerned gaze, so he tried to cover it up with a scoff. âI was just imagining the horrible consequences of giving you a bomb. I think I went into preemptive shock.â
âThatâs not fair! It would be for science! You like science!â Jesper was clearly trying a new angle, and Wylan was honestly a little tempted to just give him an empty box and watch him try to detonate it.
But he wouldnât do that.
Not yet, at least.
Even though he knew it was probably a mistake, Wylan turned his back on Jesper to check on his compound. âItâs not science when I already know the result. The result being mass destructionâ
âLook, let me justâwhat was that?â Wylan had turned around just as Jesper was trying to reach past him, and Jesper ended up accidentally jabbing him in the ribs. To say that Wylan jumped would be an understatement.
Heâd basically folded in half, letting out a loud yelp and curling in on himself and cursing his instincts for the blatantly obvious reaction.
Reluctantly, Wylan straightened back up, unwilling to face the ridicule he was sure Jesper was just waiting to unleash on him. But, instead of the disdainful sneer heâd been expecting, Wylan looked up to see a fond smile of Jesperâs face, his eyes dancing with unrestrained delight.
The moment their gazed locked, Jesperâs grin took on a sharp, mischievous edge and Wylan automatically took half a step backwards, only to bump into his work table.
âWhere are you going, Merchling?â Jesper asked teasingly. âThis is a new discovery, and it needs to be documented. Now this is some science that I can get behind!â
Jesper took another step forward, quickly cutting off Wylanâs already limited exits.
âI am not above blowing up your kneecaps,â Wylan threatened.
âWell,â Jesper shot back, leaning closer to loom over him, âYouâre not above many things, are you?â
Wylan rolled his eyes, because itâs not like he hasnât heard that before. If Jesper wasnât making some sort of comment about Wylanâs height, he was resting an elbow on top of his head, or exaggeratedly leaning down in order to look him in the eye.
In the split-second he took his eyes off Jesper, he realized that heâd made a crucial mistake. A warm hand wrapped around his wrist and yanked him close, spinning Wylan around faster than he could blink until his back was pressed flush against Jesperâs chest.
Before his face could go completely red, though, fingers curled expertly into his sides and Wylan let out a loud squeak. Jesper seemed to chase the sound, fingers pinching up his ribs until the squeak broke into full-fledged laughter, and Wylan was trying his damndest to fight him off.
And failing miserably.
How had he not realized how strong Jesper was?
It was only when Jesper fluttered a couple of fingers against Wylanâs neck that he managed to find his words. âJesper! Quihihihit it! Nohoho not there!â
Which might as well have been a flashing neon sign that said TICKLE HERE in big letters.
Jesper leaned in close, his lips brushing against Wylanâs ear in a way that made him squeal, and said, âWhy not? Itâs for science!â He blew a sharp puff of air into Wylanâs ear, chuckling lowly at the shriek he let out.
âNow, thisâ Jesper said, skittering his fingers across Wylanâs stomach, âThis could keep me entertained for ages. Who needs cards when I can just do this? Just me and you, doing our fun little science experiments together. And do you want to know my conclusion?
He went back to squeezing Wylanâs sides, drawing out a choked-off snort as he frantically shook his head. âNo! Yohohouâyou didnât even have a hypothesis!â
âYouâre right!â Jesper said, âOkay, how about: Wylan has the cutest, squeakiest laughter out of everyone in the whole Barrel?â
Oh God, this was humiliating. Wylan was never going to be able to live this down.
But, if this is what it took to keep Jesper away from Makkerâs Wheel, Wylan would just have to suffer through it. Just so that Kaz wouldnât kill him, at least.
Not any other reason that may or may not involve being held against Jesper as his hands drew increasingly embarassing noises out of Wylan.
Definitely not.
âAnd my conclusion is,â Jesper continued pointedly. âI was absolutely right.â
As soon as he said that, Wylan heard him take a deep breath and plant his lips on the back of his neck. Before he had the chance to feel any particular way about that, Jesper blew the most horrible raspberry that Wylan had ever experienced. It sent electrick shocks down his spine as warning signals started blaring in his brain.
Over his cackling, he could just barely hear someoneâs voice go, âJesper, you have to let him breathe.â
And just like that, Wylan was being lowered onto a chair, riding out the lingering giggles as he sucked some much-needed air into his lungs.
He knew what would be waiting for him when he finally opened his eyes, but Wylan was still mortified to see Kaz standing in his makeshift lab, leaning on his cane, expression stony but looking at them with what mightâve been a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
âTonight went according to plan, weâll meet in the morning to discuss next steps.â It was mostly directed a Jesper, but then Kazâs stare shifted over to him. Wylan could just barely catch the dip of his chin as he nodded inâwhat? Gratitude? Appreciation? Simple acknowledgement of what Wylan just put himself through?
Whatever it was, it vanished as soon as it appeared, and Kaz turned on his heel, the thump of his cane echoing as he walked towards the door.
Just before crossing the threshold, he paused, glancing back over his shoulder. âWylan, if you want revenge, make sure to go for the knees.â
And then he was gone, but not before Wylan could catch a decidedly smug grin ghosting across his lips.
After a second, Kazâs words registered in his head and Wylan slowly turned to face Jesper. It sent a wave of satisfaction through him to note the panic in his eyes and waver in his voice as he said, âMerchlingâWylan. You really donât have to do this!â
Wylan didnât bother wasting any time, tackling Jesper to the ground before he had a chance to run for it.
âOh, but I really do,â he said. âAfter all, itâs for science!â
In the end, there were two new discoveries made that night.
The first was that Wylan had the cutest, squeakiest laughter out of everyone in the whole Barrel.
And the second was that Jesper could absolutely not handle what he dished out. In fact, he seemed to be worse than Wylan himself.
Lowkey in writers block⊠and I have posted in forever!!!
Please give me prompts Iâm begging you!!! If youâve been wanting something but have nobody else to ask, send them my way I promise Iâll write for you!
Summary: Things were pretty awkward between Pomni and Jax, but now...well, they were still kind of awkward.
Word Count: 3,013
[Set in between episodes 7 and 8...aka before Caine goes all sicko mode haha]
This is a tickle fic btw!
~đ~
It might have been smarter to debrief or have some sort of conversation about what had just happened after Caineâs last so-called âadventure,â but Pomni could tell nobody was feeling particularly up to it. That included her.Â
When everyone returned to the circus, they each silently slumped into their rooms. Pomni followed them, shutting her door just a tad bit too strongly as a final screw you to Caine. The slam that reverberated throughout her room felt good in the moment, but the silence that followed only served as yet another reminder that they were alone here. She was alone here.
Pomni sighed and collapsed onto her bed. The stiff mattress reminded her of those tiny beds that came in dollhouses someone might find at their local run-down toy store. The ones that were basically a piece of cloth haphazardly stapled onto a slab of wood.
Pomni turned to face the wall. Once everyone had time to decompress, they would probably gather around to talk aboutâŠwhat they were going to do, especially since their only lead turned out to be a concoction of Caineâs messed-up code.Â
Were they supposed to pretend everything was normal and just let Caine whisk them on another adventure tomorrow? How could they when Caine was capable of taking what little sense of reality they had and tossing it all in a blender to serve to them later as some stupid smoothie? Pomni grabbed her pillow and smashed it against her face, half-heartedly hoping that she would be able to suffocate herself in a world where nobody needed to breathe.Â
âŠ
Pomni wasnât sure when she had fallen asleep, but she woke up to her pillow on the floor and dried drool on the side of her cheek. She sat up slowly, rubbing her face. Out of habit, she glanced at the wall to check how long she was out, but there wasnât a clock or anything she could use to gauge the time.Â
She tossed the pillow back onto her bed and sat up. Restless energy buzzed under her chest. Pomni opened the door. It squeaked slightly. The hallway was empty. She supposed everyone was still holed up in their bedrooms. Filled with nothing except the vague impulse to move her legs, Pomni stepped out into the hall.
She wandered around the circus for a while. It was silent save for the occasional popping of one of the bubbles overhead. Pomni stared at them for a few minutes, waiting for one of them to grow fangs and a potty mouth, but they stayed blank, floating to and fro much like actual bubbles would.
The circus was strangely eerie without Caineâs booming voice or Kingerâs squawks or Ragathaâs awkward laughter to fill up the place. Ironically, the colorful walls and large, cutesy props sort of reminded her of an abandoned mall or a toy store. This would have been exactly the type of place Pomni would have been itching to sneak into with nothing except her cell phone and a camera in her hand.Â
But that was a habit of the past.
Eventually, Pomni found herself stepping into the circusâs common roomâŠif one could call it that; nothing about this place was particularly âcommon,â but it was one of the few relatively normal rooms.
Pomni stopped in her tracks.
Jax lay across one of the couches with one of his arms draped haphazardly over his face. His legs hung over the armrest. His eyes were closed. Pomni would have thought he was sleeping if it wasnât for the way his foot tapped against the side of the couch.
She scratched the back of her hand as she thought about what to say, but her mind went blank. Should she even talk to him? Breaking the silence somehow felt like some sort of taboo.Â
âŠWell, if it was anyone who would be more than willing to break anything that was considered to be remotely decent, it was Jax. With newfound confidence, Pomni stepped over to where he was lying down.
âHey,â she said, her voice low. âI thought youâd be in your room.â
If Jax was surprised about Pomniâs presence, he didnât show it. Instead, he opened one eye and scanned her up and down before closing his eye again. âI got bored,â he said simply.
âMe too.â Even though Jax was no longer looking at her, she still smiled. Granted, it was a small, awkward one, but a smile nonetheless. After what had happened with the whole button thing, she wanted Jax to know that there werenât any hard feelings, at least not on her side. âI napped for a bit, but that was it.â She bounced on her heels as she glanced around the looming circus tent. âItâs a bit weird here without anyone else.â
Jax hummed flippantly in response.Â
âUh,â Pomni stretched out the sound. âDo you mind if I sit here?â
For a few seconds, she thought Jax wasnât going to answer, but then he shrugged. âI donât care,â he muttered through his teeth.
Pomni plopped down at the end of the couch, next to Jaxâs head. If she had the choice, she probably would have sat on the other side, where his legs were, but there wasnât any room for Pomni to sit. Honestly, there wasnât much room on this side, either. The top of Jaxâs head narrowly avoided brushing against her thigh, but that meant his ears were nestled squarely in her lap. She pressed herself against the back of the couch.
Jaxâs eyes popped open. His pupils were tiny. âWhat are you doing?â The question came out quickly, almost a snarl. His ears perked up in such a way that they were no longer touching her skin, which she appreciated.
âYou said I could sit here.â
âI said I didnât care.â Jax glared in a rather non-uncaring way. âAnd, I thought you meant one of the other couches. You know, the three other free ones?â He jabbed his pointer finger toward the set of equally colorful couches across from them.Â
âOh,â Pomni said. âSorry.â She didnât bother to move.
Jax gave her an unimpressed look before rolling his eyes. He settled back into the couch cushions and covered his face with the back of his forearm. â...Whatever,â he mumbled.
They sat like that for a long time.Â
It was weird. For a while there, it seemed like Pomni and Jax were sort of getting along. Sure, he was pretty rough around the edges and overall a jerk to literally everyone here, but they were beginning to find some sort of common ground. That was, until the gun adventure, and nowâŠwhatever that whole thing was with Caine. She couldnât understand him.
Pomni glanced down. Jaxâs ears bobbed slightly in the air. Every so often, one of them would droop down far enough to hit her leg, but he always picked it back up.
She kept watching it.
Maybe that was the problem with this place. Everything here looked close enough to real, but not real enough for them to stick. Jax was a person, obviously, but he was also a purple rabbit made of whatever passed for code in this world, splayed across a toy-bright couch underneath a giant multicolored circus tent. The whole scene felt staged. It felt like something set up for her to poke just to see what would happen.
âYou know, itâs kind of funny,â Pomni said, âbut, for some reason, I had assumed that you were slightly fuzzy. Like an actual rabbit.â Before she could think better of it, she rubbed one of his ears with her forefinger and thumb. Jax flinched slightly at the contact, but he didnât move away. âBut, you actually feel more like rubber.â
âDid you find that out when you were beating me into a pulp?â Jax asked.
Pomni blinked. âAh, well, um, yes,â She stumbled over her words. âBut, you did throw me out of a moving truck once, so I think weâre even on that front.â
âYou have to admit that it is kind of interesting, though, right? Our bodies, I mean.â She stroked the tip of his ear with her thumb. Jax sniffed, stiffening slightly. âLike, Iâm wearing gloves, but I can still feel things normally.â To emphasize her point, she ran her fingers down the length of hisâŠfur? skin? Whatever exactly covered his avatar.
Jax bolted upright and turned around in his seat. âD-Donât do that,â he yelped, cringing at the way he stuttered. He tugged at his ear, as though he was attempting to shake out the sensation.Â
âIâm sorry.â Pomni held her hands in the air. âI didnât mean to tickle you.â
It was as though Pomni had just kicked his puppy. Jax stopped cold before turning around fully, so he was now on his knees facing her. âYou didnât tickle me,â he sputtered, his voice turning ever so slightly shrill. âIâm not ticklish.â He slapped the cushion with his palm.
âRelax,â she said. âThereâs nothing to be embarrassed aboutââ
âIâm not embarrassed!â Jax gestured toward himself. âWho said I was embarrassed? I just donât like people touching me, alright?â
âOkay, okay. I get it.â Pomni found herself agreeing with Jax just to get him to settle down. âI donât like being touched all that much, either.â
Jax paused. â...Good.â
A beat passed between them. Pomni glanced to the side, but there wasnât much to look at. Jax wasnât moving. He scrutinized her every movement as though she was going to jump him at any moment. Pomni tapped her fingers against her knee just to have something to do.Â
âI was being serious, though,â she said just to break this awkward energy.
âAbout what?â
âAbout how thereâs nothing embarrassing about being ticklish.âÂ
Jax crossed his arms. âWould you let go of that already?â He kissed his teeth. âI didnât peg you to be some sort of pervert.â
âPervert?!â Pomni sputtered. âWhat are you talking about?â
âIsnât it obvious?â Jaxâs tone took on that same lazy drawl it usually did when he was trying to deflect. He smirked as he leaned back against the armrest. âI mean, you basically waltzed in here begging to cuddle up with meââ
âExcuse you?â
âAnd then you start touching me all overââ He threw his hands in the air wildly in some strange attempt to mock her. ââlike some sort of perv!â
Pomni frowned. She waited a second just in case she had managed to mishear him, but nope.Â
She chose her words carefully. â...If the first thing you think about when someone accidentally tickles you is something perverted, then maybe youâre the issue?â
Jax went still.
He stared at Pomni. His pupils were so tiny that his eyes were basically a sea of yellow. Jaxâs ears straightened up as if someone pulled them by a string, and his shoulders hunched over. He sort of reminded Pomni of a predator hunting his prey, which was kind of funny considering what he looked like.
Then, he smiled.
It was wide, almost encompassing his entire face.Â
âWow, Pomni, youâre even more perverted than I thought.â
âAre you serious?â
Jax stretched his arms out in front of him before cracking his neck. He was acting like someone who was about to start a workout. âLetâs see how you like it when someone gets handsy with you.â
âWhat are you talking aboutâah!â Pomni screamed as Jax leapt on top of her, knocking the wind out of her chest. They tumbled into a heap on the floor. âWhat are you doihingâ!â Pomni got her answer once Jax started digging into her sides.
âSee? Youâre ticklish, too!â Jax exclaimed. He sat on her legs, pinning her to the ground.Â
Pomni noted the last part of his sentence. âI nehever said I wasnât!â Jax didnât answer. Instead, he chose to drill his thumbs underneath her arms. Pomni flinched. She could feel a wobbly smile creep onto her face as quiet giggles poured out of her. âHehey!â She placed her hand over his to dull the sensations.Â
Jax scowled and moved onto her stomach, then her hips, and then her sides, again. If Pomni didnât know better, she would say he was beginning to get annoyed. What? Were her reactions not funny enough for him? Because they certainly werenât funny for her.
Finally, having had enough, Pomni seized Jaxâs shoulders and shoved him to the side. He gave a clipped yell before crumpling onto the ground like a rag doll. Pomni pushed herself up. She knew she didnât have much time before Jax would decide to retaliate, so she did the only thing she could think of.
She sat on his back.
âHuh? Hey!â Jax collapsed underneath her weight. Pomni experimentally wiggled her fingers against his ribs. Any sort of smartass comment that Jax might have said in that moment was drowned out by a high-pitched squawk. âAAHHAHAHAâ!â He slammed his fists against the ground as his arms scrambled underneath him in some sort of futile endeavor to push himself up.
Jaxâs laughter was more like a scream than actual laughing, but it was amusing nonetheless. His face scrunched up, but he couldnât keep his lips closed for more than half a second. Pomni suspected that he was trying to hold his laughter in, but he was apparently too sensitive to even do that.Â
âHuh,â Pomni said. âI guess you are ticklish after all.â She spidered her fingers up and down Jaxâs sides. While she always thought his overalls were pretty goofy, they gave her great access to exploit his weak spots.Â
Jaxâs legs twisted and turned wildly as he tried to buck Pomni off, but she held on strong. âShâshuhut uhuhUHUHP!â His laughter was borderline maniacal with the occasional hiccup splattered in between. How endearing. âItâs nahahatâŠ!â Jax squeaked when Pomni pinched his side. âItâs nahat FAHAHAhair!!â
âWhat isnât fair?â
Her fingers crawled up and around his back, targeting the especially sensitive spot between his shoulder blades. Jax tried to push her off of him, but he couldnât quite reach the spots where Pomniâs hands were. Despite being taller than her, Pomni was definitely bigger, which she used to her advantage. She planted her knees against the ground to steady herself.
âYouâre nânahahat thatâ!! Eheheeh!â A particularly squeaky chirp spilled from Jaxâs lips. âStahap! Stop thahahaat!â Jaxâs fingers dug into the floor, but he couldnât find any leverage.Â
Hm. Was Jax complaining that she wasnât as ticklish as he was? How childish could he be? Though Pomni supposed she wasnât one to talk, considering the circumstances.Â
âIâll stop if you promise not to tickle me again,â Pomni said.
Before the softball adventure, Pomni didnât think they could blush. They didnât exactly have blood, after all, but Jax had proved her wrong, then. And, he was proving her wrong, now. Jaxâs face had taken on a more pinkish hue. Since they didnât need to breathe here, Pomni surmised that his reddening cheeks were mostly due to embarrassment. Unless his face just did that when he held his breath, but she doubted that.
She lightly brushed her index fingers up Jaxâs armpits. His arms clamped around his sides as he let out another sharp scream. âAHAHAHâ!â Jax almost managed to fully shake her off of him that time. That must have been a particularly sensitive spot. âNuh uhuh!! YohâouâŠâ Another hiccup. âYou stahâAHAHâarted it! Eehehek!â
âYeah, by accident!â Pomni rolled her eyes. She suspected that he was mainly refusing due to pride. He could be pretty stubborn, after all, but she could be, as well.
âOh, Iâm sohoho getting you bahaHAHAck when I gehet out of thihihs!âÂ
At this rate, Pomni was going to be tickling him forever. She needed to find a way out without Jax immediately getting revenge. She shifted, so she was looking behind her. Jaxâs legs were still kicking as he writhed all over the place. It sort of reminded her of that one rabbit from that movie she watched a long time ago as a child. What was their name, again? Thumper?Â
Huh.Â
Something else managed to grab her attention. She blinked just to make sure she wasnât seeing things, but no, Jaxâs tail was wagging. That was pretty surprising, considering he didnât have the thing a couple of weeks ago.
Pomni wasnât all too knowledgeable about rabbit biology, but she wondered if his tail was similar to a dogâs. Maybe Jax was secretly enjoying this? It certainly didnât seem like it by the way he was yelling at her, but his tail was telling another story entirely.
She didnât dwell on it.Â
She hummed in a fake inquisitive way. âI wonder if your paws are also ticklish.â
Jax shrieked. It sort of hurt her ears. âFIHIHINE! Fihihihine! I wohohonât get you back! I promihihise! Ahahaha! JâJust stop! Pleâahahahâ!âÂ
Satisfied, Pomni stopped tickling him. She slid off of Jax to give him time to calm down. Jaxâs arms gave out from under him as he fell into a pile of limbs on the floor. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to catch his breath. His cheeks were still rosy in hue, but they were starting to return to their natural purple shade. A singular droplet of a tear had welled up in his right eye, which made Pomni scratch her cheek. Yeah, she might have gone too far this time. Again.
Jax wheezed. He tried to push himself up once more, but he only managed to prop himself onto his elbows. âNever ever mention this to anyone ever,â Jax said in between labored breaths. He wiped away the tear with the back of his hand.Â
âAs long as you do the same,â Pomni said.
Jax paused for a moment, like he was mulling it over. Then, he nodded. âDeal.â He held out his hand.Â
âDeal.â Pomni shook it.Â
Jax nodded before fully collapsing onto the ground. He pressed his face onto the ground and groaned. Oops. It looked like she did go a bit too far. Hopefully, he would forgive her sometime soon.
Between Us Two || The Amazing Digital Circus Tickle Fic ||
A/N: their dynamic is so interesting i just had to. this is platonic funnybunny but it can be romantic if you want it to be whatevs. the point is that they need each other.
Summary: A friendly game between Pomni and Jax turns into an entirely different kind of game.
Word count: 3,277
---
With eternity stretching out ahead of you into the disorienting expanse of the unknown, you had to find ways to preoccupy yourself. If this Circus was all they were going to know for the rest of their existence, they had better start getting comfortable.
Each member had their own ways of doing so. Ragatha had her friends to fill the suffocating silence and keep her tethered to what mattered. Zooble and Gangle had their art, something new and fresh that spit in the face of the automated creation, reinventing their universe into something beautiful and real. Kinger had his memories, his dark, pillow fortress acting as his safe haven from the harsh light that threatened to take away from him all that he had left. Pomni, still quite inexperienced in the ways of the unique depression the Circus gave, had not found her pastime yet. She was still grappling with the reality that she would never see Earth again.
Jax had his mischief. No matter what dreadfully dull situation he found himself in, he had his sharp wit and playful spirit to keep him entertained. Though he was starting to find that his hijinks were much more enjoyable when shared with someone else.
Pomni was his favorite someone else, even if he would never admit it. She accepted him in a way that no one else in this Circus had, except Ribbit. She didn't try to change him or make him into something that he wasn't. She indulged in his chaotic nature without losing her own sense of character, which made her the perfect "straight-man" to bounce off of.
Today, the two had found themselves in a game of... whatever this was. There hadn't been an establishing of rules of any kind, and neither one was keeping score (a score of nothing in particular, hence the lack of rules), but it was fun. And it kept them busy.
The game consisted mostly of ducking behind obstacles and throwing colorful balls at each other, a much less uncomfortable snowball fight. The balls had come from the latest addition to the Circus: a ball pit room that, while fun on paper, was horrifyingly claustrophobic in practice. So neither one felt particularly bad about taking the balls from it. It wasn't like they'd be missed.
Pomni had created quite a bit of distance between herself and Jax and was catching her breath behind a giant red cube. Clutched in her hands were the only two balls she had left. The rest were lost to bad aim brought on by panic at Jax's approaching. If she could just steady her mind and keep her cool, these balls could meet their target.
She jumped at the sound of Jax's voice echoing off of the Circus walls.
"Come on out, Pom Pom! You know you can't hide from me forever! Why don't you come out here and face me like a man?"
"That's awfully sexist of you!" she shouted back.
"Point taken. But you're still being a wuss!"
With each word, his voice grew incrementally louder and louder, and Pomni knew that she didn't have long before she was found. She had to ready herself.
Maybe a distraction could buy her some time.
She took one of the balls, reeled her arm back, and vaulted it as hard as she could away from her hiding spot.
She heard the sharp clap of the ball hitting the floor. The muttering thuds as it bounced away. The stillness that followed.
For what felt like hours, nothing happened. She waited.
A voice. "You know I saw where you threw that from, right?"
Crap.
Pomni needed to run, and fast.
Pushing off of the cube behind her, she threw herself forward and moved her feet out in front to catch her. It was less of a run and more of a perpetual stumble, but it got her away from where she was, and that was enough.
Pomni counted about four strides before she heard the horrifying sound of an approaching tap tap tap tap tap and was yanked backwards by the devilish rabbit.
Jax lifted her up by the lappets of her hat. "God, you are slow" he scoffed.
Pomni pouted at him. "You just have freakishly fast rabbit legs, that's not my fault."
"No, but you alerting me to your hiding spot is."
"I thought I was being clever" Pomni smiled defeatedly.
"Guess there really is no beating the fastest rabbit in the West!" Jax cheered with a phony western accent. "Any last words before your humiliating defeat?"
He had an inkling that Pomni would say something snarky, or make a bid for a rematch.
He hadn't expected her to pelt him point-blank in the face with her remaining ball. The impact caused him to drop Pomni in shock.
Jax stood dumbly as he processed what just happened and came back to his sense to find the tiny jester laughing at him.
"Your- your face!" she gasped.
Through peals of laughter, Pomni started to get to her knees, but Jax stepped forward and pinned her down with one hand, chuckling evilly as he grinned down at her.
"Ohoho no no no" he said. "I want an apology. For the ball to the face, and the vicious mockery." He batted his eyelashes as if he were about to cry, but the humorous way the corners of his lips turned up was unmistakable.
Pomni took this as a challenge and began struggling to wriggle herself out from underneath him. Though a valiant effort, the size difference between them substantially hindered any attempts at escape. Instead of it looking like a mutual wrestle for dominance, it looked more like a kitten held down by a Doberman.
Jax laughed at the pitiful sight. "Yeah, you're not getting out of this one, Shorty. I'd start cooking up that apology if I were you."
He hadn't meant to, but while he was talking, his gloved fingers shifted against Pomni's belly due to all of her squirming.
Pomni's knees hitched up a tiny bit as she gave an involuntary squeak.
Jax blinked. What was that reaction for? He hadn't done anything to hurt her, at least not to his knowledge. It sure as hell wasn't a sound of fear, that much he knew for certain. Pomni was too tough to be intimidated by him.
He watched her, trying to piece together what he just heard, and noticed the way her eyes kept darting back to his hand on her torso. Her smile stretched outward in a nervous manner, and the pale skin of her face was beginning to bloom with pink.
He looked down at his hand. And then it clicked.
Once Pomni had realized that Jax hadn't meant to tickle her on purpose, she tried to straighten herself like nothing had happened and hoped that he hadn't caught on.
That hope was shattered as she looked up to meet Jax's eyes, only to find that they were almost entirely black with how his pupils had grown, his Cheshire smile gleaming down at her.
"Oh, this is rich" Jax said.
"C'mon, Jax..."
"I'm getting that apology, Pomni" he threatened darkly. "Better save yourself the trouble and give it to me now."
To accentuate his point, he tensed his fingers just a smidge. He was rewarded by the feeling of her belly clenching beneath his touch.
Pomni looked up into the face of certain doom, her inglorious defeat looming over her, and smirked.
"Make me" she dared.
And oh, that was just the answer Jax had hoped for. Better even.
She had granted him permission, and he would ride that permission to the end of the line.
Jax replied with a deep rumble. "My pleasure."
His hand began to claw swiftly into her belly, his fingers pressing as deep into the artificial muscle as he could.
The resulting sensation was insane.
Pomni screamed for a second before dissolving into manic cackles. She clutched her stomach where Jax's hand clung onto, but hadn't the strength to push him away. Her head fell back and her legs kicked wildly.
Her unrestrained laughter was infectious, and Jax began to chuckle along with her. "I mean, this could not have gone any better for me. All these weeks of you egging me on and now I find out you're ticklish? Oh, I am going to have so much fun with this, Pomni. Just you wait and see."
Pomni, through her mania, called out. "Nohoho!"
"Yehehehes!" Jax mocked. "I'll use this to win every game, every argument. I can just squeeze up and down your little belly and get anything I want. And right now, I am going to get an apology. So how about it, Pom? You ready to give in yet?"
Pomni weighed her options. There really was no hope for her if she tried to brute-strength her way out, and pleads for mercy were like catnip for Jax. Her only solution was to give in to Jax's demands. But her pride was just too damn strong.
"Nehehever!" she shouted.
"Alright, suit yourself."
While keeping his palm against her belly, he moved his pointer finger up into the hollow of her underarm and began to worm around there, which earned him hiccupy giggles from his victim.
Jax was loving every second of it.
"God," he chortled, "how am I supposed to take you seriously now that I know you can laugh like this? You sound like a rubber duck."
"Doho nohohot! Yohohou duhumb je-jerk!" Pomni shot back indignantly.
"Still not hearing an apology. You know, you're only making this harder for yourself."
Pomni didn't grace that with a response.
Jax continued. "Phew, all of this horsing around really works up an appetite. If only I had something here I could eat..."
Pomni struggled harder. "No! No no no!" she squealed.
"Tickle monsters get very hungry, Pomni, be considerate" Jax scolded. "I guess since you're here, you'll have to do."
Pomni felt a blend of dread and joy flood her veins. "Plehehehease nohohohooo!"
Jax faltered for a moment, caught off his guard by how unrelenting adorable Pomni had the nerve of being. Regaining himself, he reared up his head, gnashing yellow sharp teeth.
With a mighty hiss, Jax brought down his jaws to the jester's stomach and chewed gently.
Pomni shrieked in ticklish agony, head thrown back once more as her arms went limp against her chest. She gave one hearty kick as she felt Jax began to shake his head back and forth.
Rarely ever had Pomni felt this emotionally confused. Part of her felt the need to get out of this somehow, but the other part of her was just having too much fun. It felt good to play with Jax like this, and she knew better than to wonder whether he would respect her wishes enough to let her go if she really demanded.
In this moment, nothing else existed. No suffering, no heartache, no ever-present despair.
Just laughter.
Jax picked up his head to catch his breath and admire his handywork.
Pomni was still laughing herself crazy and lying limp on the floor. She seemed to be almost done now. One more big gnaw should do the trick.
Jax leaned back again, relishing the way Pomni groaned with fear, and brought his teeth back to her belly.
Sure enough, Pomni waved the white flag a few seconds later.
"OKAHAY OKAHAHAY! I'M SORRYHYHY!" she laughed.
True to his word, Jax stopped his onslaught and released her. As Pomni caught her breath, Jax sat back on his heels. "Aaaah, what a delicious feast. Meals are so much tastier when they're squealing for mercy, eh Pomni?"
Without even raising her head, she lifted her middle finger to him.
Jax chuckled to himself. "That was the funniest freaking thing I've seen all week. Ah, I needed that." He noticed Pomni hadn't said anything yet. "You dead down there, Pom Pom?"
Not a word.
"Pomni?" Jax repeated, slightly concerned.
He leaned forward to get a better look at her and make sure she was alright. They couldn't asphyxiate in this world, but that didn't mean you couldn't torture them half to death.
Jax leaned a little closer.
Suddenly, he felt the wind get knocked out of him as his back collided with the hard Circus floor.
Pomni was straddled atop him with a devious toothy grin on her face.
"I believe I am owed an apology now, don't you think?" she asked.
Jax couldn't believe it. That dirty cheater had tricked him. He had to admit, he was kind of proud.
"For what?" Jax replied. "You're the one who started it."
"No, actually, that was you when you started throwing your balls at me!" Pomni argued.
She scowled at the stupid grin on his face.
"Shut up, you know what I mean" she huffed. "Now, apologize for tickling me half to death."
"I will never apologize for a good bit."
"Never?"
"What are you gonna do about it?"
Pomni quirked up an eyebrow, turning her lip to make a smirk as she raised her gloved claws.
At that moment, Jax felt his stomach drop to his feet.
"Ha! Nice try" he bluffed. "That doesn't work on me. I'm not ticklish."
"You really think I'm gonna fall for that one?"
Jax smiled. "Is it working?"
Pomni shook her head fondly. She was going to enjoy this.
Unlike Jax's sudden and forceful approach, Pomni slooowwwly descended her wiggling fingers towards Jax's middle.
The rabbit's eyes widened. "Wait- alright, alright, hang on- you- c'mon now, let me up- this is childihish."
Pomni said nothing. No cunning remarks for Jax to bounce off of. No taunts, no banter. Just her knowing smile.
The lack of responsiveness drove Jax mad.
He felt the pit in his stomach yawn wider the closer Pomni's hands got. They were almost to him.
He braced himself and held his breath just as her fingers finally touched down and started to tickle.
Already this was much harder than Jax had anticipated. He wasn't an extremely ticklish person, but he had gotten so unused to the feeling since being here in the Circus. He had lost whatever resilience he had built up to it.
He exhaled hard through his nose and breathed back in, careful not to let one of those breaths deform into a laugh. Not here. Not in front of her.
As the prickling sensation traveled through his nervous system and throughout his torso, Jax's twitching got more erratic. His laughter could be controlled, but his squirming could not, which wasn't really helping his "not ticklish" case.
Pomni watched as her delicate dance of fingers slowly drove Jax insane. She figured that he would try and hold in his laughter, but that wasn't going to deter her. No, it only fueled her determination.
She decided to play a little dirty.
"Jax?" she said. "You feeling alright? You look a little tense."
Jax's eyes bugged out at her at the audacity, but she kept on.
"You're not fooling me, Jax. I can tell you're trying not to laugh. I think you just might be... just a tiny bit... ticklish."
With eyes now shut tight from the strain, Jax shook his head stubbornly. Whether that was to deny her statement or to try and shake the tickles away, Pomni wasn't sure.
"Jaaaax" Pomni sang. "I know you wanna laugh. I know you wanna."
God f%$# dammit, Jax swore. She was right.
His earlier confidence was wearing down. She had him right where she wanted him and there were little places for him to run to. If he didn't think of something fast, he might... actually have to laugh.
Pomni could practically hear the thoughts tunneling through his brain. Her hands slowly migrated to the bunny's sides and gently spidered up and down their lengths.
It tickled so f%$# bad. Every nerve ending was screaming.
A quiet little whimper caught in his throat before he could stop it. His ears drooped as his smile grew sillier. Oh no.
Taking in the sight of her prisoner, Pomni dealt the final blow. The ultimate weapon.
Tickling faster, she drew in a deep breath and began to sing. "Tktktktktktktktktktktktktktk!"
Jax couldn't hold it in any longer. That stupid sound!
Like a bursting dam, high-pitched giggles started to spill from his mouth, growing louder with each passing second. He felt a rosy warmth spread across his face as he heard what humiliating noises he was making. He buried himself inside his hands as the giggles overtook him.
He was so focused on his own reaction that he couldn't see Pomni's face.
A face that was now glowing in awe.
She had never heard him laugh like this before.
He laughed all the time: snorting with derision, chuckling at his own quips, cackling at others' misfortune. But he had never giggled.
Especially not like he was the most vulnerable, most happy soul in the world.
Her heart melted inside her chest. It took everything within her not to coo, for she feared that if she did, Jax would tuck back into his shell and never reemerge ever again.
Instead, she spoke to him in his language. The language of teasing.
"Are you sure you're not ticklish?" she asked.
Jax found just enough strength to say "F%$# yohohou!"
"Old Jaxxy boy can't handle his tickles? Hm? Does it tickle too much?"
"SHUHUT UP!" Jax shrieked from behind his hands.
Smiling, Pomni ignored him and shoved both hands into Jax's underarms, tickling every inch she could reach. "Kitchee kitchee coo! Kitchee kitchee kitchee coooo!"
He absolutely howled with laughter, taking his hands away from his face to try and pry Pomni's wicked hands away from his pits.
In doing so, Jax inadvertently allowed Pomni a look at his face. His watery eyes, rosy cheeks, and bright smile just about took Pomni's breath away.
She almost wanted to keep this going forever, until she realized that she was supposed to be extracting something from him.
"If you don't apologize, I'll just have to keep tickling" Pomni threatened. "Maybe I'll have to move on down to your hips-"
Jax sprang to life. "OKAHAY! Alrihight, alrihihight, I give! I give!"
"And?" Pomni prompted.
"I'm sohohoryhyhy!"
"Thank you." And with that, Pomni slowed her torture to a stop, regrettably. She climbed off of Jax so that he would have room to breath and get his bearings. He kept giggling for a surprising amount of time. He just couldn't seem to get himself under control.
Eventually, his chest did stop trembling, and his laughter died down.
As his mindfulness returned and he realized what had just happened, he turned to Pomni sharply. "If you tell anyone about this, I'm throwing you off a bridge. And tickling you until you have a heart attack."
Pomni glanced away doubtfully. "Not possible, but don't worry. This stays between us. Besides, I don't want anyone finding out I lost to you in our game either."
That last part wasn't true at all, but it was an easier pill for Jax to swallow than I won't betray your trust.
Jax read her face for a moment, and then softened; a thank you behind his eyes.
With his anxiety relieved, Jax pushed himself to his feet. "Weeellpp, guess we've gotta clean up this mess." His smile had returned to its usual impishness, and his carefree charisma seeped into the air like it had never left.
Pomni looked around at the sea of colorful balls littering the floor.
"Oh. Yeah."
Pomni glanced up at Jax with a smirk. "Whoever collects the most balls gets the other's dessert."
"Oh, you're on."
---
this was so much more fun to write than I ever imagined âș
Gachiakuta tickle fic! Basically what we all were imagining when we learned Rudo doesn't know how to smile. Fluffy af.
Ler! Enjin
Lee! Rudo
_________________________________________
â...So you're telling me that the fight that ended in you throwing literal shit at Zanka started because you tried to smile at him?â
Enjin asked slowly, as serious and sincere as ever.
âYes! I wasn't trying to be an asshole, I just wanted toââ
Rudo jumps in to defend himself, only to cut himself off in confusion at the sound ofâŠlaughter?
He looks up to see a slightly hysterical looking Enjin. And Rudo's expression only makes Enjin fall into harder laughter. By the time he's mostly composed, Rudo's crossed his arms with an annoyed huff.
âKidââ
Enjin manages, still fighting off chuckles.
âThe hell kinda face did you pull at Zanka to immediately make him want to fight? He's fussy, yeah, but not usually the type to go in all violent. Was your smile seriously awkward enough to be offensive?â
âI guess,â
Rudo shrugs, frowning.
âI don't really know what I did wrong. Regto said a good smile can make people see you in a whole new lightâŠbut I'm just bad at it.â
âAww, kid. I'm sure it can't be that bad. Show me what you're working with! Maybe I can help you out, huh?â
Enjin reassured in a way that sounded halfway patronizing and halfway genuine, ruffling Rudo's hair.
âI'll just creep you out! Or you'll laughâŠâ
The kid sulks, averting eye contact.
âWellâŠI might.â
Enjin chuckles to Rudo's bafflement.
âBut at the end of the day it's just a face, twerp. Doesn't say anything about your character. That saidâŠyour dad was right in that a smile can be a powerful tool. It's a way to communicate with people. Show them how you're feeling, y'know? Send a message.â
Rudo scrunches up his brows in thought, eyes falling to his gloves.
âI didn't really think about it like that, but I guess that makes sense.â
âAnd, I'm just saying,â
The older man adds, leaning over towards Rudo with a lopsided grin.
âChicks love a good smile.â
âUgh, shut up!â
Rudo groans, gently shoving Enjin away.
âYou sound just like RegtoâŠâ
âHey, your dad was right about a lot of things kid! That's just another one of them.â
Enjin leans back in the
âAnd to be frank, there's plenty of people that would be pretty damn stoked to see you smile at them. I mean, can you imagine Zanka's face if he saw a real smile from you? Or Riyo?â
Enjin knows heâs laying it on thick, but the kid not being able to smile is just so depressing.
âSo are you really totally sure you donât want help from someone as handsome and charming as myself?â
Rudo scowls at his lap. Heâs so tense it almost looks more like heâs trying to explode his legs with his mind.
â...Fine. But if you canât fix my face you owe me.â
âAwesome. So, now you gotta show me the current situation. I wonât get all creeped out like Zanka, I swear.â
âSure, whateverâŠâ
Rudo mumbles, unconvinced. He sighs, as if resigning himself to his suffering. He looks up at Enjin and.
Oh Wow.
Rudo looks like an actual maniac. His face and neck are strained like heâs about to pop a blood vessel. If Enjin saw this expression on Rudo in the field he would assume Jabber had attacked the kid with some kind of toxinâhis eyes are wide and his pupils restricted, nostrils flared, and mouth pulled up into some kind of grossly over-exaggerated, tight lipped grin. No wonder Zanka flipped his shit.
Enjin throws his head back and howls with laughter. His fucking vision is blurry and if he wasnât sitting on a couch heâd fall over heâs laughing so hard. And when he finally recovers he sees the little twerps pissed off, pouty face and loses it again.
âOkay, okay, Iâm good now, I promise Iâm done.â
Enjin chuckles, still catching his breath.
âYou said you wouldnât freak out, asshole!â
Rudo gripes, actually crossing his arms as he pouts and looks away. Itâs appallingly cute and ridiculous on Rudo, which Enjin is going to pretend he doesnât notice.
âI didnât freak out. I just laughed.â
Enjin chuckles with a shrug.
âBut anyways I have good news kidâyou definitely donât have a bad smile! Because whatever face you just made at me one hundred percent does not count as one.â
âWhat does that even mean?â
Rudo asks, equal parts flummoxed and offended.
âIt means I think you have a much nicer smile hiding in there somewhere! We just need to get it out. The biggest problem with that face you made was that you were way, way too tense. You seriously need to relax.â
The older man gestures loosely at Rudoâs tense, eternally agitated demeanor, holding back a snicker.
âEven right now you look uh, pretty intense bud.â
âOkayâŠuhh, how about this?â
Rudo takes a slow breath. His shoulders drop a fraction, and his brows relax slightly.
âThat'sâŠa little better. Try the smile again?â
Rudo rolls his eyes, but tries again. It'sâŠnot much better. At least his eyes are a little less bulge-y.
Enjin laughs again, shaking his head.
âOkay, no, you still look like you're gonna pop a blood vessel. C'mere.â
He goes to grab the kids shoulders, push them down into a more relaxed position. But the minute he touches the kid he jumps nearly a mile high, flinching away.
âWoah, hey, are you hurt? By now you know even if it's just a bruise, you're supposed to let us know and go to Eishaââ
Enjin is about to start a lecture when he notices something. Why is Rudo turning red? He gets annoyed at fuss over injuries, but usually doesn't get embarrassed. At least, not this much.
âI'm not hurt!â
Rudo blurts, immediately wrenching away from Enjin's hands.
âI just, uh, you surprised me! I'm fine. What were you even doing?! You shouldn't need to grab me to fix my smile!â
Enjin grins. The kid is hiding something. And he's a terrible liar. And Enjin has a certain theory.
âYou saw me walk right over, Rudo. I don't know why you'd be surprised. C'mon, let me check your injury! Unless you're hiding somethingâŠ?â
âI'm not hiding anything!!â
Rudo squawks defensively.
âYou justââ
The kid scowls, making a sound close to a growl.
â...fine. You can look, see I'm fine, then leave me alone.â
He huffs, crossing his arms.
âSounds good to me. Just gotta make super sure.â
Enjin says slyly. Bingo.
He takes great care in pulling up the back of Rudo's shirt, examining his back and shoulders. The whole time Rudo is stiff as a board, shoulders creeping up towards his ears.
âHmm. Everything looks in order.â
He hums, and Rudo sighs with relief, relaxing significantly.
âNow we just have to do the internal injury check.â
âThe whaâaah!â
Rudo lets out a squeaky shriek as Enjin gently pinches the back of his ribs.
âOh, hey Rudo! I just thought of the best way to help you practice your smile!â
âHey! You were tricking me!â
Rudo cries out in offense, trying to twist around and shove away Enjin's hands while simultaneously swallowing down the urge to giggle.
âGo away youâahahsshole!â
âRude. But this wouldn't bother you unlessâŠâ
He hums dramatically as if in thought, wrapping an arm around the kids front to hold him in place. The kid looks ridiculous trying to hold back laughter. Like he's sucking on a lemon.
âRudo. You wouldn't happen to be ticklish, would you?â
âI'm n-nohot!â
Rudo cries shrilly, already squirming like a worm on a hook. Memories come rushing back of Regto doing this when Rudo was being overly agitated or stubborn, or just to be annoying. He never once successfully escaped or won any of those tickle âfightsâ.
Rudo is so totally screwed.
âHmm, okay. Gonna be honest I'm not feeling super convinced kid.â
Enjin says before shoving a handful in Rudo's armpit and scribbling ruthlessly.
Rudo tenses and shakes with the effort of holding it all in for a few pitiful seconds. Then he bursts into scratchy, squeaky laughter. Clumsy and unpracticed, but damn.
Why does this borderline feral brat have to be so goddamn cute sometimes?
âJeez, kid. We should've just started with this! Now lemme see the smile.â
He teases as Rudo desperately tries to hide his wobbly smile in his shoulder.
âNononohoho! Fuhuhuck ohohoff!â
âNah. Well, I can't see your smile, but the laugh's pretty cute. Girls will love it.â
Enjin kneads into the kids hips and he squeals, going limp and throwing his head back in squeaky cackles. His ears are turning bright red, the teasing making the tickles feel so much worse somehow.
But now, Enjin's gotten a glimpse of Rudo's face. And. Wow.
Eyes scrunched up in laughter, bright red flush on his cheeks, and the wide, toothy grinâhe looks straight up adorable. It's undeniable. He looks so young, too.
Enjin shakes off his fondness because, Ew, he's not a sap.
âThere it is! Now that's a smile! And it's a great one too. This is great practice for youâwe should make it part of your training regiment, right? Zanka would probably love that.â
Imagining Zanka seeing this makes the kids' eyes go all wide and flustered. Rudo shakes his head frantically and goes tomato red, starting to sink to the floor either in overwhelm or hopes of an escape. Enjin just easily follows him, and now Rudo's even more fucked. Great.
âM'gâahahahah! Gonna kihihihihill you!â
He manages to growl through laughter.
âRude. No wonder you were trying to hide this though, seems like you're pretty damn ticklish, Rudo.â
Enjin decides to explore a little. This kid definitely needs a laugh anyway, why not satiate his curiosity? He gently claws into the kids tummy and he falls into hiccupy giggles, twitching upwards like he's being shocked.
âRibs, hips, and your tummy is this bad? Kid, I was joking earlier but we might actually have to work on this a little. What if the raiders find out, huh? Or a trash beast gets you with it's claws!â
Okay, maybe Enjin can't help but be a little sappy. He squeezes and scribbles all over Rudo's tummy in time with his threat, making the kid shriek like a squeaky toy.
âYou'd be done for! Toast!â
He bemoans dramatically. Christ, if Semiu saw him right now he'd never hear the end of it.
âYouhohouâtuâhahaha! Turdface! Gohoho die AhahâNonononohohoho!!!â
âMan, when are you gonna stop callinâ people turdface? It's never gonna catch on, kid. Oh, hey, does this tickle? I kinda forgot this spot.â
He lightly skitters his fingertips over the kids shoulders, where he first reacted. Rudo wasn't doing an amazing job of fighting back before, but this seems to turn him into an actual useless puddle of soft giggles.
âYou're sohoho mean!â
He whines, clearly flustered and foggy-headed from all the laughter. Enjin chuckles, exploring the kids ears and neck with wiggling fingersâyou know, for posterity. He scrunches up like a little turtle, grabbing at Enjin's wrists but doing fuck all to push him away.
âHey, you wanted help smiling! Here I am, helping, and that makes me mean? That's harsh, kid. What, would you rather have Zanka? Is he cooler than me or something?â
He suddenly reaches down and squeezes a knee, laughing fondly at the resounding shriek.
âIs there anywhere you aren't ticklish? This is a security risk, kid. Do we need to have August add some extra padding to your uniform?â
âI hahahahate you!â
He giggles frantically, weakly batting at Enjin's hands, trying to curl up like a pill bug.
âHold on kid, I gotta check something down here.â
He grabs a flailing ankle, scribbling over the kids socked feet. Rudo falls backwards, laughing heartily enough that his stomach hurts. His cheeks hurt from smiling, and he's actually tearing up.
âSTOPSTOP STAHAHâHAHAââ
Enjin realizes he might be accidentally murdering the kid. So he stops. And he noticesâŠdid the kid ever actually tell him to stop before now?
Hm.
Rudo catches his breath, still giggling weakly. Curling up like he still expects a tickle attack.
âYouâŠssâsuhuhuckâŠâ
He manages, too exhausted to focus on his embarrassment.
âThink what you want. But heyâyou're still smiling.â
Rudo perks up at that, noticing the soreness of his cheeks. He is still smiling.
âDoes itâis it normal?â
He asks timidly, wary. As if he can't imagine his happy face looking normal.
âIt looks great, kid. Picture perfect stuff. You learn to do that on command and I'm sure you'll get all the sweets you want.â
He sighs, ruffling the kid's hair.
Rudo flushes again, ducking his head, but still smiling. And Enjin isn't even exaggerating. He may have created a terrible weapon here.
Rudo sits there, shocked for a moment. Then he sits up with a furrowed brow and extremely serious look on his face.
â...I gotta go try that out right now.â
Of course that's what he got out of it.
âGo get âem, brat.â
Enjin chuckles, giving the kid a hand as he gets back on his feet.
Could you make more ATSV Tickling Fics of Ghostpunkflower of the 3 together please I would really love to see more of Lee! Miles and Hobie with Ler! Gwen.âŠplease please
YESSS!! OFCOURSE OFCOUSRE OFCOURSE!! :))) I LOVE WRITING FOR LEE MILES AND HOBIE!! (I know itâs been 2 years⊠Iâm sorry)
Lee: Hobie + Miles
Ler: Gwen
Look, I know itâs been a while since Iâve even touched these requests but Iâm working on it. I swear I will get all these out one way or another. If itâs any of yâallâs concern, my memoryâs been getting worse slowly so it may take longer to get these out. <3
Enjoy~
The 3 spiders cuddled up on the couch using a blanket for warmth, the moonlight barely peering in from the curtains that blocked the sunlight half of the time.
Miles was leaning on Hobies arm, due to their height difference, and Gwen was laying across Hobies lap with her right arm over her head. As Hobie was in the middle, he kinda just sat there, staring at the TV. Both of the spiders body heat pressing up against him not to mention the fluffy blanket draped over his bottom half with Gwen always being super cold.
Now Hobie wasnât one to start things about him, it was the least of his problems right now. He had 2/3 of his favorite people cuddling up to him with a good movie playing, the room was a good temperature to everybody who wasnât being smothered, andâŠ.. God thatâs all he could think about. It was too warm! He focused real hard to try and think cold thoughts, ending up just zoning out.
âYou alright Hobie?â A sleepy voice asked in his ear slightly causing him to tense up and jump a bit.
âY-eah mate, donât worây bout meâ The taller one said, shifting positions slightly. Which didnât help, in fact the friction of the blanket probably made it worse!
âNot âthat itâs any of your concern, itâs just a bit hot. Thatâs all!â Hobie said, then feeling shuffling around his thighs.
âIâm freezing! What do you mean youâre hot?!â Gwen exclaimed, grabbing the blanket closer to her. Her elbow slightly digging into his thigh, but he tried his best to ignore that for now.
âYouâre always âfreezingâ! We could be in Pavs universe right now and youâd still be cold.â Which was right, even though Pavs climate was relatively warmer than most, due to the latitude, there had been some times where Gwen had complained of the cold breeze in his verse.
Gwen fixed her posistion again, causing a large Hobie hand to come shooting down to her elbow, which was now digging into his knee.
âE-enouf!â Hobie yelped, the volume in his voice slightly raising as he tried to prevent the sensation from continuing.
Gwen dodged the hand, staring up at the Brit as she grinned. âForgot somebody hereâs a littleâŠâ
âDonât you say it!â Hobie scolded, as if he had a say in anything Gwen did. Miles watched from the side, admiring the slight tint that praised Hobies cheeks.
âTicklissshh??â Gwen dragged out, using her elbow to dig circles into the poor punks thighs.
âGWEHEN-!!â Hobie jumped as he fell into immediate cackles.
âYea? Whatâs the problem?â Gwen acted oblivious, continuing her attack upon the poor boys thighs that kicked out from beneath her.
Switching her technique, she began to squeeze the spot right above where Hobies knee and thighs meet. Earning a loud wheeze, Hobie doubled over trying to pry Gwenâs hands from his legs.
âAhA! FuhahUCK OHOFFF!!â He cried as he succeeded in pulling her hands away, catching his breath.
âYou never let me have fun!â Gwen pouted as she sat back up next to Hobies recovery state.
âIf you wanâ fun, get da spot betâween Miles ribs anâ pits.â Hobie smirked at Miles who gave a shocked expression his way.
âWhat!? No! Are you serious?!?â Miles gasps out a betrayed beg as he backed away from a very hungry Gwen.
âMilessss⊠cmon now, donât be like that!â Gwen slowly approached as she climbed over Hobie.
âNo! No! Donât give me that!â Miles reached the end of the sofa as he put his arms up defensively.
In one swift motion, Gwen dove straight for Miles. A startled yelp was heard from the boy as he tried to grab at Gwenâs hands. Unfortunately for him, Gwen had already wormed her fingers up his ribs into that exact spot Hobie described.
Miles shot his elbows down, pining them to his body. Gwen hit her lip as the boy screeched before falling into squeaky laughter. Hobie grinned, seeing as the situation he was just in upon somebody else.
âHOHOBIE YOHOU S-SUHAHACK!!â He squealed, rocking from side to side.
âAye, I di-nât say nofing that wasnât true!â The taller responded, another screech from the attackee filled the room.
âOKAHAY!! OKAHAAY!!â Miles began to start flashing in an out of visibility, a sigh that they both knew ment that he was at his limit.
Gwen slowed before coming to a complete stop. Admiring the smile the boy wore.
âYouâll be fine,â Gwen said as she removed her hands from his body. She laid back onto the couch, resting her head on the punks shoulder who had slithered down the couch.
As Miles made his recovery, he stretched himself across the both of them. Laying his head in Hobies lap, and the rest of his body over Gwenâs.
They spent the rest of their night watching whatever rest of the movie they had on before, soon falling asleep relatively quickly. They tangled themselves in each others limbs as they drifted off, Hobie, then Miles, and then Gwen.
~~~~
Im so sorry this took so long, I will be posting more soon I promise.
Summary: Jax is bored and decides to take it out on Pomni. But she has a better idea on how to keep them both entertained.
Lee: Jax đ
Ler: Pomni â€ïžđ
Authorâs Note: Yes I ship FunnyBunny donât hate me- Itâs mostly a ship that I love the concept of. Hope you all enjoy this fic before the tears that will be shed during todayâs episode! âš
Neither could really remember how exactly they got into this position. Both were together in Pomniâs bed. Jax was laying on his back while Pomni was snuggled against his chest. Arms wrapped around the other, Jaxâs hand rubbing small circles along Pomniâs back.
Their last adventure had really taken it out of everyone and each had gone to their respective rooms as soon as they got back. It was Jax who followed Pomni to her door and demanded she let him spend the night there. Of course she obliged, not without a little teasing first. But thatâs how they worked. Jax was a little less of an asshole, more affectionate. Pomni liked giving him affection no one else was allowed to give.
Another thing she did which seemed impossible for others to do was fluster him. Jax always had this facade in front of the others. But with Pomni that facade seemed to crumble, only a little though, and neither could complain.
âYou like what you see~â Jax teased. The two had been staring at each other for a bit now. Pomni didnât mind the silence. It was comfortable. But I guess it seems that Jax got bored and intended to make it her problem. Pomni rolled her eyes.
âWhatâs the matter? Rabbit got your tongue?â Jax poked Pomniâs forhead causing her to grunt. She went to move as if she was going to get off of him.
âUh, uh, uh~ Where are you going?â Jax leaned forward, grabbing onto one of Pomniâs bells that dangled from her hat.
âHey!â Pomni yelped as she was yanked back towards him. Their faces merely inches apart.
âHey, what? Iâm just trying to entertain myself here. Not my fault you happen to be the perfect toy for me to mess with.â Jax grabbed the other jester bell. Pulling and jingling them to his hearts content.
âYouâre lucky I hate you a little less than the others, otherwise I wouldâve probably pulled these little bells off and kept them for myself. Then again I like knowing when youâre around the corner.â Pomni huffed out a breath and tried to shove Jax back, but her small arms proved her unhelpful. It didnât help that his giddy smile kinda made her want to let him continue.
âKnohock it off!â Pomni couldnât help but giggle at the silliness. However, she was also getting tired of being on the receiving end of his torment. Itâs about time she got him back.
âOkay thatâs it-â Pomni poked her fingers underneath his arms causing Jax to shriek. He hastily brought his hands back to his sides. Pomni took the opportunity to fully straddle Jax, her hands now hovering above the purple character.
âWahahait- PohomPohom! Nohoho!â Jax gently grabbed onto Pomniâs wrists, barely pushing against her. Whether the reason was because he was tired or secretly enjoying the attention, Pomni was going to take advantage. He did deserve it after all.
âBut, I thought you were bored?â Pomni snickered at the nervousness in Jaxâs eyes. This wasnât the first time this particular situation had happened. Jax was bored, Pomni happened to be there, Jax âentertainedâ himself, Pomni got him back. Tickling was actually not out of the ordinary for them. Either of them ending up on the receiving end at some point or another.
âWehell Iâm not anymore soho goho awahayahay! Nohohoho!â Jax fell into small giggles when Pomniâs fingers met their destination on his sides.
âWe both know thatâs not true.â She quickly adjusted herself. Grabbing his arms and swiftly pushing them against the mattress against his sides. Her body sat back down, keeping his arms pinned to his sides and leaving Jax utterly defenseless.
Jaxâs eyes widened. He didnât have time to process what was happening until he was already stuck. He pulled at his arms and kicked his legs. He wasnât getting out of this easily-
âThihis is soho nohot fahair!â Jax couldnât help the anticipatory giggles that escaped his lips. He couldnât help getting giddy when Pomni acted this way. And heâd be lying if he said he wasnât excited for her to continue.
Pomni set her hands lightly on Jaxâs stomach. His breath hitched and his face blushed. Why did she always have to go to that spot?!
âDohonât you dahare! You f$&@er!!â Jax tried to break free, albeit with no success.
âThree~â
No. She wouldnât-
âOho, you aha$$@?*#!â
âTwooo~â
She was.
âDohonât!â
âTwo and half~â
âJuhust do it ahalready!!â
âFine. But you literally asked for it.â Pomni giggled. And with that, her hands plunged into the pool of ticklish nerves on Jaxâs stomach. Her fingers scribbled across his waist, pinched his sides, poked his lower ribs, no place was safe from her tickly revenge.
âPOHOHOMPOHOHOM! PLEHEHEHEASE!â
There was that nickname again. Jax tended to call everyone in the circus names, but this one seemed to come from a place of genuine liking. A nickname youâd give to someone close.
âWohow. Really ticklish here, huh?â Pomni teased as Jaxâs face scrunched up in ticklish frustration. His legs kicked out at the covers. His back arching against the bed as he tried hiding his face against the pillows beside him.
âYOHOU KNEHEHEHW THAHAT YOU JEHEHERK!â His foot thumped against the bed, creating a silly, little rhythm that matched with his sporadic laughter.
âYeah youâre right. I also know it gets even worse if I do this.â Pomni smirked, switching from a light pinching to kneading little circles into the lower sides of his stomach. But not only that, she leaned down and started peppering Jaxâs neck with light kisses. Something Jax couldnât ever handle no matter how many times sheâd kissed him there before.
âAHAHAHA!! NAHAHAHAT THEHERE! POHOMNIHIHI!â Jax shook his head back and forth, his hands curling into fists as he fought to fight back with his full strength. Even though his body was yelling at him to escape from the ticklish trap.
âNot there? Why not?â Pomni teased, bringing her head out of his neck for a second to look behind her.
âYour foot is thumping a lot. Plus if you really wanted to escape you totally could.â But could he? Jax always crumbled when he was tickled. Especially by Pomni.
Pomni continued her attack on Jaxâs stomach, taking note when he twitched more desperately at his lower stomach being targeted. How he squealed if you got too close to his belly button. Even letting out a small snort when you clawed into the center.
âSHUHUHUT UHUHUP!! STAHAHAHAP!â Jax kicked and squealed. Stop was his favorite word when being tickled it seemed, but he never actually meant it. He liked the back and forth banter. The fight of it all. And heâd be damned if he gave in that easily.
âKOHOHOCK IHIT OHOHOFF!â Jax kicked, but Pomni kept her hands locked and kneading at that spot.
âFihine. Fine. But one more thing.â Without giving him a second to think, her head dove back into his neck and blew the longest raspberry she could muster. And after she was done. She kept going.
âGAHAHAHAHA!! SH!&!! STAHAHAHAHAP!!â Jax was losing it. He squealed and scrunched his shoulder against Pomniâs head. Both of his feet thumped against the mattress as his eyes screwed shut. Ticklish tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
âOKAY! OKAHAHAHAHAY! IHIâM SAHAHAHAHAHA!â Jax couldnât finish. Pomni started nibbling rather than kissing. She was really determined to drive him up the wall tonight.
âPOHOMNIHI! STAHAHAHAHAHAP! PLEHEHEHASE!â Jaxâs eyes opened wide as he shook his head back and forth. His blush darkened as his squeals and shrieks filled the bedroom. She was going to kill him some day.
âYou know what you have to say.â Pomni paused to say before leaning forward and nibbling into the base of his ear. Jax screamed before falling into silent laughter.
âIâM SORRY! IHIâM SAHAHAHAHARRY!!â Jax was finally able to cackle out. Pomni gave his neck one last kiss before she stopped. Letting go of his arms and lying to the side of him.
Jax immediately curled into a giggly ball. His eyes sparkled with leftover tears and his foot still jerked every now and then from the leftover sensations.
Pomni giggled next to him. How could she not? He looked utterly adorable all tickled out. Jax rolled his eyes and smiled widely.
âYeah, yeah laugh it up. You got me good. Donât think I wonât get your back though.â Jax chuckled then squealed again when she jabbed him in his ribs.
âOkahay! Enohough! Not tonight I promise.â Jax sat up, drank some water, then grabbed the comforter that had fallen on the floor before covering the two of them up in the cozy covers.
They cuddled up close and stared at each other a little while longer. This time with no interruptions until the two were fast asleep.
But, when you really think about it, is it the winner or loser who laughs last?
Pomniâs been the target of one too many pranks to let Jax slide this time. But he's not going down without a fightÂ
Potential warnings: cartoon violence. The Amazing Digital Circus tickle fic.
Word count:Â 10,765
~*~
There were a few ways in the digital circus to effectively make the entire cast convene to one location. Food was a relatively good method, though virtual and without substance; it could eventually draw most of the colorful characters from sleep or solidarity in their bedrooms. Much faster was when the ai ringleader, Caine, snapped his fingers and summoned the group, physically floating them into his presence. Fastest, though, was a way just discovered. Not technically the most completely effective, as it only successfully summoned four of the six troupe members, but one was the cause and one had been awaiting such sounds of chaos and felt no need to seek them, when they would surely find him soon enough.
If you weren't expecting it, a terrified genuine scream was enough to get anyone moving.Â
Just minutes earlier, the circus denizens had trudged to their rooms, ready to recover from an exhausting day of ai generated adventuring. You wouldn't know it, at the speed with which the four carnies flung open their doors and flooded the dormitory corridor, bolting toward the still-shut entrance of their newest memberâs door.Â
Ever concerned and the nearest caring neighbor, Ragatha made it there first, rapping rapidly on the door. âPomni! Pomni, are you okay?â Kinger, Zooble, and Gangle caught up with her quickly after, waiting anxiously for a response.Â
After a moment, the jesterâs door opened, scant enough for only Pomniâs voice to pass through. âRagatha, don't look.â
A collective sigh of relief passed through the group upon hearing Pomniâs voice, reassuring them that she hadn't been eaten or abstracted or fallen to any other manner of twisted fate that could be dreamt up in their little world. Their concern turned to confusion at her words, though. Ragatha furrowed her brow but didn't ask any further questions, moving to stand behind Kinger and covering her eyes. âOkayâŠâ
Pomni emerged slowly, gently butting the door open with her shoulder due to her hands being engaged in cradling a pencil-sized centipede. The carefulness of her gait clashed harshly with the clench of her jaw and the angry cherry color of her cheeks. She took several measured, but not completely calming, deep breaths. âKinger? Do you have an extra place in your terrarium for this?â
Kingerâs eyes lit up, and he gasped so excitedly that they seemed to glow. âOh, Pomni, thank you!â His floating hands manifested from his royal purple robe and cupped together, eager but delicate as he held them out to accept the little creature. He watched in awe at its magnificent multitude of legs scuttling upon his fingers. âWhat a thoughtful gift! I can't remember the last time someone gave me so many legs!â
âYou're⊠welcome,â Pomni replied, her temper visibly cooling at such sweet silly sentiment. She sighed, wiping her hands on the front of her red and blue costume. âI'm glad someone can get some joy out of this.â
âOh, do you not like centipedes, Pomni? I know I myself didn't used to be a fan of bugs either,â said Kinger. Behind him, Ragatha scooted away until she was safely hiding behind Gangle, eyes still shut even with considerable distance between her and the creepy crawler.
âI don't not like them, but I definitely don't like them as much as you. And this one and I definitely didn't get off on the right foot, so.â Pomni pulled her door shut but didn't lock it. âSo you are welcome to keep any bugs you find in my room from here on out.â
âWow.â Kingerâs eyes narrowed happily, and he turned, practically skipping back to his room as he chatted with his new buggy friend. âNow, don't worry, little fella. I know meeting new folks can be scary, especially when you have a lot of left feet. But Pomniâs very nice when you get to know her. Oh! You didn't see any more bugs while you were in her room, did you?â
Once Kingerâs voice had faded down the hall and behind his own bedroom door, Ragatha dared to peek out between her hands, then dropped them with a relieved exhale. âThanks for the heads up, there. You okay?â
Pomni nodded. âI'll be okay, thank you.â Her bicolor eyes glanced from Ragathaâs face to just past her shoulder, and the sight of the grinning purple face that marked the door across the way reignited her smoldering temper. Before she'd regifted it to Kinger, the centipede had surely been a gift from her leporine neighbor. He was infamous for leaving undesirable favors in the cast membersâ rooms, and he was the only one wicked enough to rig Pomniâs door to drop something on her head and scare her eyeballs from her skull. Reliving the event--going from spent and sleepy to terrified and totally awake, letting out such an embarrassing scream, realizing who the culprit must have been and picturing his smug face laughing at her plight--made actual smoke begin to billow from beneath Pomniâs hat and a sharp smile stretch across her gritted teeth. âBut I'll be better once I kill or seriously main that rabbit. Excuse me.â
Zooble chuckled. âI'll get the popcorn.â
*
For the second time that night, Pomni proceeded her own entrance with a yell.Â
âJaaaAAAAAX!â
The rabbitoid prankster was seated on a sofa in the main area of the circus tent, lazily flipping through a gobbledegook magazine. He pretended not to notice Pomniâs approach until she was standing behind him. âOh, hey Pompom!â said Jax as he turned his head to her, his smug grin betraying his phony innocent act. âNot too tired from the adventure after all?â
Pomni balled her fists at her sides, resisting the urge to jump over the back of the couch and throttle him. âWhat is your problem?â
âIn general? Or right now?â Jax snickered, dropping the magazine on the cushions. He kicked his legs up and swung them over the back of the couch before pushing himself up with his arms so he could face Pomni and grin down at her. âBecause, if it's the former, weâre gonna be here a while.â
âWhen did you even have the time to--?!â
âTime to what, exactly? Whatever it was, it must've been pretty good to get your collar THAT ruffled.â
âYou KNOW what; it was obviously you!â Pomni retorted, rising up into her tiptoes and glaring at him. âNobody else is gonna rig a centipede on my door to land on me when I close it!â
âOh no,â Jax said, holding a hand in front of his mouth in a way that might have looked sympathetic if not for the corners of his grin stretching unabashedly out from behind his yellow glove. âDon't tell me you're afraid of centipedes, too, Pomni.â
âI'm NOT--â Pomni took a deep but not exactly calming breath. âI'm not. What I'm scared of, and what you know perfectly well that I'm scared of, is things JUMPING at me.â
âWell, now, that's just a hurtful stereotype to put on a rabbit, and a lazy way to accuse me of something objectively hilarious.â Jaxâs hands fell to his hips, and he leaned forward to loom over Pomni. âYou even got any proof it was me? Huh? Like you said, when would I have had the time? We were having so much fun together on that adventure today, remember?â
Refusing to be cowed by his approach, Pomni stood her ground and crossed her arms. âIt's certainly no one elseâs MO.â
Jax waved a hand dismissively at that rebuttal. âCircumstantial. Your blame is both baseless and hurtful.â When Pomni tried to take a confronting step toward him, Jax bapped a palm against her forehead and maintained distance between them, stopping her in her tracks and easily holding her at bay with his long reach. âHey, for all you know, that centipede could have wandered over from Kingerâs room just looking for a new warm friend to snuggle with.â
Pomni shoved his hand away with a huff. âYou won't even pretend to be sorry.â
âWhat, and lie to your face like that?â Jax batted his eyelashes at her, and Pomni felt a twitch in her own eye. âWould I do that to you, Pomni?â
Certainly, she would have made a good centipede snuggle buddy, what with how steamed she felt. She was currently of two very disparate and very loud minds. On one hand, she could practically hear the voices of the other circus members advising her not to engage with Jax (whenever possible, but especially when he was in an instigating mood). His antics were only to garner attention and a reaction, so walking away was both the high road and the far less bumpy road. On the other hand, (and she realized she could actually hear their voices because the other circus members had followed her on her warpath but stayed a safe distance back and half hidden in the hall) she could feel their rapt gazes on her, hear their hushed bets on whether or not blood would be shed. Jax wasn't likely to take responsibility for the stupid prank he'd played on Pomni, and he definitely wasn't going to apologize. Quite the opposite; he was relishing any upset from her and would only get a bigger laugh the angrier she got. Pomni would have loved to do something to wipe that smug smile off his face, make him feel humbled or thrown off his rhythm. But. But⊠She took another deep breath, a begrudging sigh. She supposed she would have to be the bigger person.Â
âAw, turning in after all?â Jax said when Pomni turned to march back toward the dormitory without another word. âFine. Hey, tell your new roommates I said goodnight.â
Her trek stopped after only three steps. Roommates, plural. He'd hidden more than one. Or he was messing with her, trying to get into her head or under her skin. She no longer had the energy or patience to figure it out.
[BOING] it. Why should she be the bigger person? Jax would be the first to point out, tauntingly, that she wasnât. The high road would take her nowhere, so Pomni could see no reason not to stoop to Jaxâs level. His tall, tall level. He had to be taken down a peg.Â
Pomni may have been the smallest member of the circus, but her cartoon body was as agile and spry as anyone elseâs. And she was easily able to use it to pivot on her heel, sprint the three steps back, and launch herself at Jax with a screech. The loud noise and sudden movement surprised Jax and prompted him to turn tail to run, but he wasn't quick enough to avoid Pomniâs flying leap. She landed squarely on his back, catching his long ears in her fists and yanking them to keep her balance. With a grunt, he pulled against her, but Pomni shifted her grip and held firm, the opposing forces making Jaxâs ears and forehead stretch backward like they were made of rubber. Both snapped back into place when he gave up on pulling away, and Pomni wrestled his head closer with just one vice-like grasp so she could use her right hand to land blow upon thunking blow atop his head. She wasnât the strongest, and her fist colliding with his skull made disappointing cartoonish bounces and squeaks, but she still found some catharsis in the attack. If his irritated grunts and censored curses were anything to go by, not only could Pomni get the upper hand, but she had it, and she was not planning to let go any time soon.Â
It was a shorter-lived victory than she would have liked. Jax had realized trying to pull forward had gotten him nowhere, so he opted instead to go rigid and fall backward. Pomni was having too much fun smacking him in the head to react in time and move, so he dropped atop her like a felled tree and knocked the wind out of her. Squished but not ready to surrender, Pomni continued to grapple viciously with his head and ears. When that didnât work to budge him, she wriggled her legs out from beneath him so as to drive her heels repeatedly into his sides, like urging a stubborn horse. Jax did rear up into a sitting position with a growl, dismayed when she clung to and followed him easily. He flung an elbow backward at her, and, when that attack didnât uproot her, he reached over his shoulder to grab at one peak of her jester hat. Part of her avatar, it moved and stretched with the same unnatural give that Jaxâs ears had when their positions had been reversed. Pomni gritted her teeth on a pained holler and instead cried out vengefully, finally releasing his ears so she could scrabble at his face, finding purchase on the edges of his ever-present (albeit currently grimacing) grin and pulling his cheeks. Jax grabbed her wrists first, and then shot his hands back further, hooking them under her arms to try and detach her from her perch.Â
Something unexpected happened then, amid what had seemed a lawless anything-goes brawl. After the grunting and hissing and cursing and punching and pulling, when Jaxâs hands squeezed her sides to try and wrench her off him, Pomni let out a startled high-pitched squeal and relented immediately, releasing her hold on Jax in order to instinctively clamp her arms to her sides and her hands over her mouth. All movement seemed to freeze, all air seemed sucked from the room, and even the peanut gallery was hushed. Jaxâs hands, still clasped around her ribcage, squeezed again, curious, deliberate, and Pomni tried to smother a yelp in her red and blue gloves.Â
No, of course not, her digital body couldn't be especially strong or tall or fast, and it didn't look or sound anything like the physical body sheâd spent twenty-five years trying to get used to. But of course, of course, her avatar would be ridiculously ticklish. The notion, even the possibility, hadn't occurred to her, had slipped her mind in the midst of circus chaos and asinine adventuring and not losing her mind. But the realization shocked through her system, this truth shot through her. This very silly, very familiar, and very human sensation.Â
For how much force she'd exerted trying to rend his cheeks moments earlier, Pomni imagined Jaxâs grin was nearly splitting his face as he, too, realized why sheâd made such a squeaky sound. With his hands in such a convenient spot and Pomniâs fists no longer choking his ears or clobbering his head, Jax could easily pluck her from his back and flip her over his head to hit the ground in front of him. The arcing toss sheâd been thrown in and subsequent slam to the floor knocked the air from Pomni's lungs with an oomph, and her pupils spiraled dizzily. She shook her head, blinked, focused, and immediately wished she hadn't.
Jaxâs face, his massively smug grin, loomed over her. Pomni glared up at him in return, hoping to appear more menacing than the petrified she actually felt at the tablesâ sudden turning. His hands moved, one just enough to press down on her shoulder and chest to keep her pinned, and the other to rest complacently on his hip. âSo,â he said, tipping his head to one side, âcentipedes don't bother ya?â
Pomni didn't bother wasting time on confusion at the question Jax already knew the answer to. She put her focus instead on gripping his wrist and trying to free herself from under him.Â
Jax didn't appreciate her lack of a reply and demanded her attention by pushing her a little harder into the checkerboard floor and brandishing his free hand in a claw above her. âHow about spiders?â
For just a moment, Pomni froze, eyes growing wide at the implicating inquiry that was confirming what was about to happen. Her attempts at escape redoubled, her body thrashing and feet scrabbling and hands shoving and mind wailing at the floor to glitch beneath them and swallow her up. Or launch Jax through the top of the big top. Pomni tried to glare up at Jax, but she couldn't help her gaze flitting betrayingly to his descending, wiggling fingers. â[HONK] you,â she tried to hiss, only to groan at how her censored cursing only made the situation sound all the sillier. âHow can we even be--?! Why is this even a thing?!â
âWho knows?â Jax replied with a shrug. âSeems like the sort of thing Caine would be inspired to zap us with, so maybe it's a feature. Or maybe it's a bug.â His arachnid hand crept closer, hovering inches above Pomniâs torso. âEither way, if I can use it against you, that's fine by me.â
Pomni came to the begrudging conclusion that she wasn't avoiding her imminent fate. Jax was too stubborn, his hold too strong, and his fire for revenge too stoked. Even so, she refused to go down silently. Forcing herself to take a deep inhale through where her nose used to be, she let the struggle ebb from her limbs, crossed her arms, and scoffed. âIf you need a glitch to make me laugh, maybe you should try pulling pranks that are actually funny.â
Jaxâs smile widened further fiendishly, making his eyes narrow and his pupils shrink. Touched nerve for touched nerve, it seemed. His hovering hand dive-bombed to finally connect with Pomniâs side, squeezing and spidering up and down the blue side of her torso.Â
Pomni bit her lip hard enough to taste static. He may have surprised her before, but she could see her doom coming now; if she was ready for it, maybe she could withstand it. Her arms still somewhat crossed, she clamped them tight to her sides, hugging herself in defense against his attack. Even as his hand skittered up and down her right side where she couldn't easily block, Pomni held back the rising tide of hilarity she could feel bubbling in her throat, holding her breath and hopefully withholding any satisfaction for Jax in cracking her.Â
âOoh, you gonna try to hold out?â Jax teased with a sneer. âYou think that will work? Like I'll get bored if you don't laugh again? Jokeâs on you; I'm actually very patient. Especially if I get the entertainment of what your face is about to do.â
Despite her cheeks being puffed out like a hamsterâs and her face beginning its âentertainingâ shift of rainbow hues, Pomni tried to glower at Jax. If her face hadn't naturally been shifting from blue to magenta, it would have definitely gone red when Jax laughed at her.
âAww, is that the best you can do? I've seen you make scarier faces than that. Or, is that why you had to attack me from the back? So I wouldn't see how you just can't stay mad me~â
Censored by a loud car horn, Pomni hurled a curse through gritted teeth and a punch through her instincts of self-preservation, both aimed at Jax. Both equally ineffective.
Pomniâs arm was too short for her swing to connect when Jax leaned back, but it did reach far enough to open a new place for him to target. His assailing hand jumped from her side to her opposite exposed underarm, fingers dancing beneath her striped poofy sleeve.Â
Her face shifted sharply from green to white as a shriek barreled its way out from Pomniâs chest. Where last such noise had been followed by breathtaking silence, this one preceded an avalanche of merry mad cackling. Her arm rocketed down to try and defend the apparently very weak spot, but it was no use. Jax had gotten a reaction from her; no way was he going to quit when he'd just gotten started.Â
âBoom, THEREâS the fireworks!â Jax cheered, positively beaming.
For as insufferable as his verbal teasing was, Jaxâs tickle attack wasn't as malicious as Pomni would have expected of him. Maybe it was because the movement of his hands was somewhat limited with Pomni trying to crush them like a rat in a snap trap. Not limited enough though, if her squealing was anything to go by. Were his hands glitched into her avatar or something?
Whatever the case, the pair became all the closer when Jax hauled Pomni up into his lap, still tickling under her arm and using his own arm to pin her to his chest. âNow, what were we talking about?â said Jax, rubbing his chin in mock thoughtfulness before sending the fingers of that hand to flutter by Pomniâs neck. âOh, right! You were accusing me of some awful clever prank. Rudely, but. I SUPPOSE I could hear you out. Floorâs yours. Do you have any evidence that this surely dashing prankster was me?â
The hug Pomni currently found herself trapped in was unyielding, Jaxâs arm like a seatbelt securing her to her doom. Any answer she could have given was swallowed up by guffaws as Jax bullied her further, forgoing his fluttering attack on her neck in favor of scribbling his fingers into her stomach.Â
âFair point,â Jax said, considering her cackling as though it were a profound, let alone coherent, response. âI can see how you'd jump to that conclusion. But I think I have a pretty good counter point.âÂ
His hands vacated her body so suddenly that Pomni slumped to the floor, limbs weak like jelly and chest heaving. Jax shifted from sitting on his tail to his knees. Pomni had been about to summon any strength into crawling out of his reach, but now she just blinked in confusion. No way he was actually letting her go all of a sudden, right?
(In retrospect, Pomni thought she heard the sound of a slap coming from her colorful creeping peers in the hall. Whether it was someone face-palming at her foolishness for not trying to run when she had the chance or someone clapping their hands over their eyes to avoid watching what came next, Pomni couldnât say.)
Jax grabbed Pomniâs limp forearms and easily wrangled them under his knees, pinning her to the floor. Fighting instinct flooded Pomniâs body seconds too late, and she writhed fruitlessly under his hold. Her human body might have been injured being restrained under an unforgiving attacker and to an unforgiving hard floor, but her cartoon body wouldnât so much as bruise--a fact she used to her advantage first when twisting her arms to claw at Jaxâs legs and then at the floor itself. Caine could restore the floor with a simple snap if her attempts to dig herself free left trenches in her wake.
â[POP] you,â Pomni growled, the sound a mix of a hiss and a whine through her gritted teeth. She kept her eyes on her thrashing arms, pointedly not looking at Jaxâs hands as they came to hover by her sides. âDonât you [SPLAT]ing dare, donât you-- [BOI-OI-OING!]â
Undeterred by her swearing or squirming, Jax unleashed both hands upon her torso, fingers spidering up and down her sides, pinching her hips, and knuckling into her stomach. No matter how hard she tried to focus to fight against his hold on her, she couldn't, no more than she could fight her bodyâs reactions to the giddy elation sparkling under her skin. Under Jaxâs conducting hands, Pomniâs symphony of mirth marched on. To the raucous melody of squeaky cachinnation, Pomni danced, her heels scrabbling against the floor and her head thrown back and her eyes scrunched tight and her big sharp-toothed smile stuck to her flushing cheeks. In the beats of silence when she heaved in air, Pomni could hear that Jax was laughing, too. Definitely at her, but somehow not fully derisive. Maybe it was the lack of air going to her lack of lungs and brain, but she almost thought they even sounded fond.
âHey, your face changes color when you laugh really hard, too!â Jax snickered. âAin't that funny?â
That WAS due to the lack of oxygen. Her eyes were shut, so she couldn't confirm, but she doubted her face was turning anything but red. Especially once, to her horror and despite not having a nose, she snorted through her squealing. That HAD been a tic of her old body, and, [SHLOOMF], how long had it been since someone had made her laugh hard enough to trigger it? She couldn't quite recall, but she did remember being mercilessly teased about it afterwards. Jax, of all people, didn't immediately taunt her about it. Though, more likely than him being nice, it was probably because any snorts entered the litany of silly sounds so seamlessly that they could be missed, overshadowed by peals of squealing laughter and expletives that would be more colorful than her face if they werenât censored.Â
âSpeaking of colors, which one is worse, red or blue?â As Jax asked, he drew back his hands until only his fingertips tapped against Pomniâs sides.Â
Pomni heaved in deep breaths while she could, bracing for another trick. âRed or bluAHAHA--?!â
Jax clarified by unleashing his hands once more, first scribbling his fingers beneath her left arm, and then switching to under her right arm, her costumeâs red side and then blue one. He repeated the cycle of swapping sides, hopping from one to the other and pointedly never targeting both simultaneously. Even so, he jumped between the two spots so fast that Pomni couldnât even begin to decipher her nervous systemâs reactions, untangle them and determine which side of her brain wanted her to howl and which wanted her to shriek.
âCome ooooon~ Better tell me, or I'll have to keep going until I figure it out for myself. Oh, I see, you're having trouble talking! That's okay; you can just snort when I find the worst side.â
Both sides of Pomniâs mind were in agreement, though, about wanting to try again to yank Jax's ears off once her arms were free.Â
The back-and-forth brutality went on, Jax digging his wiggling fingers beneath her arms and adding rapid rib squeezes for good measure. Left and right and left again. Delirious, Pomni pondered, did she even have ribs? Did she have bones? Her lungs ached from laughing--did she have lungs? Only if it was funny, apparently. Then all of it, bones and breath and nerves became as real as real could be.
Unsatisfied with Pomni's completely unreasonable indecisiveness (as snorts were now present throughout her guffawing gaiety the harder he tickled her), Jax huffed and rolled his eyes. âWell, you're no help. But I guess if you're as stupid ticklish as you, it doesn't really matter which side is worse, huh? 100% on either side is 200% if I get both sides at once, and that's just arbitrary.â He grinned, wide and villainous. âBut I bet it still feels pretty bad anyway.â
If Pomniâs scream from earlier had brought her friends running, she wouldnât have blamed them if this one sent them running away. Jax abandoned his playful experiment in favor of combining his forces against both red and blue. His fingers skittered spirals around her armpits, then (perhaps in mercy, but, more likely, in self-preservation of his own ears at being so close to her sustained banshee laughter) hopscotched with vibrating steps between her ribs before landing at her belly and squeezing her until she squealed like a stress toy he had vengeance against.Â
Red or blue, who could say which was worse? Coincidentally, Pomniâs face briefly turned purple between gales of full-body chortles.Â
âThat bad, huh? Bad enough for you to, I donât know, say youâre sorry for accusing me? Hm? I miiiiight stop if I feel like you mean it.â
Her hilarity had just tipped toward wheezing, and, actually goading an answer from her, Jax begrudgingly stilled his hands. It took Pomni a moment before her breathing was steady enough to speak, but she could feel her answer at the ready. Would she apologize for calling out his stupid prank? [DOINK] no. She may not have had much in the way of poise, but she still had SOME dignity. No way could she tap out now. Yeah, it was more than she could remember ever being tickled in her old life, but it wasnât as though her new body could die of oxygen deprivation or exhaustion. She could laugh her Schrodinger's lungs out and still be fit as a fiddle for tomorrowâs adventure. And, on that note, getting to roughhouse and being made to laugh with a friend (?) was painless and even pretty fun compared to just her last twelve hours in the circus. Pomni could bear the shame of losing, but--Jaxâs own words, advice from Pomniâs early days in the digital circus, echoed in her mind: you could toughen up--no, she wouldnât settle for the embarrassment of simply letting him win so easily.
Pomni averted her gaze and knit her eyebrows together, appearing like she was considering the harrowing option of surrender. Jax leaned in, preemptively gleeful and ready to gloat. Giving Pomni a perfect opening to aim a kick at his head.Â
Surely, the audience was cringing at how close Pomni had come to a successful counterattack. Alas, the mother[SQUEAK]er dodged at the last second. He added insult to injury by catching the assailing limb by the ankle, forgoing any previous mercies and spidering his fingers behind her knee. Squeaky cackles leapt from Pomniâs lips, and her shoulders scrunched up to her jaw, both in attempt to twist herself free or hide her noises in Jaxâs leg.Â
âCareful,â Jax snickered, âkeep acting cute like that and I might feel sorry for this.â
âYou! Should!â Pomni retorted with a squeal of a roar before sending a second leg attack right to his noggin. There was a loud [BONK] as her foot connected (which could have been the sound of the impact or Zooble swearing in excitement and vicarious victory). Jax fell, hitting the floor and rolling so that his back was toward Pomni. The freed jester, elated and exhausted, didnât move right away, her muscles like molasses and her body finally out of reach from a certain pair of yellow-gloved hands. Jax was all the way over there, sprawled on the floor and⊠shaking. Clutching his head.Â
Pomni pouted, peeling herself from the floor. What a spoilsport Jax was, going and getting hurt to sour her victory. Her mindâs halves began to struggle, one panicked and guilty while the other was unrepentant and smug. The latter lost, and Pomni shuffled on her knees toward Jax. As it turned out, she was going to be the bigger person today. Prepared to apologize, she opened her mouth, only to get close enough to see that Jax was unharmed and trembling with stifled laughter. Pomni glowered, falling back onto her seat and crossing her arms. â[BLEEP] you.â
âHA!â Jax crowed as he sat up, holding a palm to his forehead. âYou beaned me in the head! Oh my god, that was hilarious! You are so never living this down. Poor Pomni is so ticklish, she has to resort to bloodshed!â
âOh, you're fine!â Pomni retorted, repeatedly whacking at Jaxâs arm. â You still have both your braincells, don't you?â
Jax let himself be pushed like a bobble toy but sat back on his hands before he could fall down. âThat was awesome,â he said with a sigh. âI am definitely putting more bugs in your room if that's the show I get afterward.â
Pomni pointed furiously at him, vindicated. âI KNEW IT!â
âYeah,â Jax scoffed, boredly waving at her hand like it was a mosquito, âyour two braincells really eclipsed together to figure that one out, huh?â
With one last smack to Jaxâs hand, Pomni swiveled how she sat so as not to face him (not fully turning away though; she did not want him in armâs reach AND in her blind spot), crossing her arms atop her knees and grumbling about how he couldnât even come up with his own insults, let alone a funny one. She didnât think heâd heard her, so she narrowed her eyes at him when he suddenly chuckled. âWhat?â
âItâs not your fault,â he shrugged, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees and his chin on his hands. âYour avatar is just too cute to take seriously when you pretend to be mad.â
âIâm not pretending--!â Pomni sputtered before giving up on arguing with him any more, the roll of her eyes shifting her gaze from his teasing grin. âYouâre impossible.â
âYouâre trying to keep me from seeing your not-scary face again. Like I didnât already see you smiling two minutes ago.â
Pomni whirled around with the intent to show him just how scary she could look when her nervous system wasnât being taken advantage of. Intent only, because, before she could don her angry eyes or sharp teeth, Jax had reached across the distance between them to jab her in the ribs. She wasnât quick enough to muffle the squeak that jumped from or wrangle the wobbly smile that spread across her lips. So she hid them and the suddenly-too-familiar red heat in her cheeks behind her hat, pulling the peaks down as a flimsy shield. Unsurprisingly, Jax laughed at her reaction, but, more surprisingly (and Pomni chided herself, her ears must have been ringing and mishearing things from her own shrieking), the sound was, once again, warm--at least, not unkind.Â
âSee? You're smiling, so you can't be THAT mad. Otherwise, you woulda kicked me way sooner. Welp!â Jax groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet. He tapped Pomni twice on the head and, when she looked up, offered a hand to help her stand. And then promptly pulled it away when Pomni reached for it, making her growl and him snicker. The second time he held his hand to her, Jax didn't psych her out but helped her to her feet. âThat was fun and all, but I gotta go nurse my concussion.â He pressed the back of his hand melodramatically to his forehead, and Pomni had to pinch her lips tight to keep from chuckling. âOh, and, I may have been merciful this time after you played dirty, but, just know, I get the last laugh around here.â Jax knocked Pomniâs hat askew as he walked past her, headed for the dormitory hallway. âI'm not going so easy on you next time.â
Pomni straightened her cap with a huff. The prospect of a ânext timeâ didn't scare her as much as it maybe should have, albeit she would take a less heart-stopping catalyst. Speaking of. âWait.â
Jax stopped, looking back over his shoulder at her expectantly.
âDid you actually hide more than one centipede in my room?â
His grin grew all the wider, eyes narrowing and pupils shrinking in diabolical delight. âNighty night, squeaky~â
The fire in Pomniâs body that had smoldered to just heating her face caught a second wind and raged into an inferno. But it wasn't burning and angry, no, it was bright and warm and stoked. Fighting and playing and feeding into and off of each otherâs energy--that had been fun. Could it really be done so quickly, so abruptly? Torrents of adrenaline ran through Pomniâs veins, and she knew there was no way she could go to sleep now. How could Jax? How could he actually be so smug and composed when Pomni felt like a soda fizzing and ready to pop. After all the chaos and excitement, he had to be buzzing, too. He hadn't closed the book neatly; he'd left the ball in her court, given her the challenge to meet or ignore. It was her move, and he didn't even look back at her. But the peanut gallery was still watching. Pomni felt a brief flash of embarrassment, then indignation, that they'd just been watching the silly showdown. But the feelings faded to something calculating. Gangle, Zooble, and even Ragatha hadn't stepped in to help. Maybe it was because it was hazing for the new kid on the block, but Pomni didn't think so. They believed in her, trusted her to be strong enough to hold her own. They'd stayed back and watched her get the wind tickled out of her, maybe because it was adorable, but perhaps because... they knew she wouldn't need the help. They knew she could get the upper hand.Â
Pomni recalled with a smirk the way Jax had ferally unleashed himself on his doppelganger after the softball game. She felt what she could only imagine was a similar surge of predatory energy, and thought a fittingly childish thought after a childish war of pranks and tickle fights: my turn.Â
Just as before, Pomni raced across the short distance between Jax and her, hurling herself at his back and latching on like a koala. Still somehow surprised by Pomniâs audacity, Jax staggered but didn't lose his balance. âYou up for another round already?â he scoffed, trying to untangle her legs from around his waist with one hand and using the other to reach behind him and try to grab at her side and replicate the way he'd defeated her before. âOr are you trying to pat me down for bugs?â
Pomni resisted his attempts to dislodge her, throwing one arm his neck like she meant to throttle him in retaliation. Jax reacted in understandable self-preseveration, his hands retreating from Pomniâs body to try and pry her chokehold from his throat.Â
âYou said you wanted the last laugh,â Pomni said, smirking at how flawlessly Jax had fallen into her trap. Her unoccupied hand met no obstacles as it snuck under Jaxâs arm. âFar be it from me not to let you have it.â
Jax froze, locked up like a startled goat the moment Pomniâs fingers began to wiggle. Fruitlessly, he cinched his arms to his sides, if not to squish her already breached hand then to prevent the other one from joining in the attack. Pomni didn't hear any laughter from him--last or otherwise--so she hooked her chin over his shoulder to see where his volume and bravado had gone. His usual, near-constant, smile seemed so easily donned, but, now, Jaxâs jaw was clenched and eyes were pinched shut with the effort to keep the smile in place. A grin like gridiron, no stretching any wider and no letting anything pass, save for a few uncharacteristically quiet and quick exhales. He tried to reach back again to shove Pomni off of him, but, as soon as his arms had become unglued from his sides, her other hand sought pinching purchase under them, and he had to retreat with a hissing grunt of a snicker.
Okay, Pomni could understand now how Jax could take such pleasure in her reactions when their positions had been reversed; Jaxâs reactions and attempts to hide them were too adorable and endearing not to tease about. âYou better laugh, Jax, or everyoneâs gonna finally see what happens when you try to hold your breath.â
Remembering the rapt audience, Jaxâs eyes popped open buggishly, and he stumbled around to place Pomni as an offensive defense between them and him.
âCoward!â jeered Zooble.
When Jax was safely faced away from the viewers, only Pomni could see his eyes close once more, his lips wobbling around the edges of his grin, his cheeks growing magenta. Whatever he was hiding--whether it was his character modelâs unique quirk from a lack of air or how his laugh sounded when it wasnât at someone elseâs misery--he wasnât giving it up easily. That was fine; Pomni had plenty of patience and vengeance to spare. She finally wormed her other hand under Jaxâs arm and wasted no time digging for ticklish treasure.Â
A strangled chortle escaped through Jaxâs teeth before he could bite it back, and the cracks in the dam only broadened. An actual giggle slipped next, high pitched and wheezy, followed by another, and another. Jaxâs brow was furrowed in embarrassment, but Pomni was beaming. So the mystery of his breathing tic would remain, but Pomni felt no loss. This was better. And, for how hard he was holding back just from her current--frankly, nice--efforts, it could only get better. She reserved the right to comment on the irony of him definitely being just as ticklish as she was and wriggled her hands free from the press of his triceps, scribbling lower to where his ribs might have been.Â
Jax crumpled, cackles escaping his widely grinning mouth and strength vacating his legs. He fell to the floor, with none of the grace or malice with which heâd done so to crush Pomni earlier. She didnât even end up underneath him this time; Jax had been courteous enough to collapse on his front, so Pomni was still comfortably straddling his back when they landed. She could practically feel the peaks of her jester cap curl upward like devil horns.Â
âNow then!â Pomni all but sang, her fingers plucking a tune of hilarity from Jaxâs ribcage. âWhat were we talking about? Oh right! You were just telling me how many centipedes you had stashed in my room.â
Futile but admirable, Jax gulped down his guffaws to reply, âThat's for me to know and you to-- nohohoHOHO!â
Pomni knew better than to expect Jax to take the easy route. So she was ready, before he finished speaking, to dig her fingers more firmly between his ribs and drill her thumbs into his back.Â
Jaxâs laugh shot to a squawk and then tumbled once again into booming cachinnation. Pomni realized suddenly that she couldnât recall ever hearing Jax laugh for longer than a scoffing second. Definitely ironic, considering his massive constant smile, that Jax didnât laugh all that much. Until that day, she hadnât wondered what he sounded like halfway to hysterical, but she decided the humorous sound, loud and bright and raspy, suited him well. His love to talk didnât leave him either, despite his airways being occupied. Best he could, he rambled and bartered and threatened, even when gales of laughter stirred his words to gibberish and swept them away. Pomni couldnât relate; the idea of trying to talk and talk her way out of being made to laugh so hard made her tired to even imagine.Â
Her imagination did wander a bit while her hands stayed busy, clawing into his lower ribs with one hand and his hip with the other. Pomni wondered how this situation would have transpired differently if she and Jax were in their old bodies, in the real world. Would she still have been able to pin him? She hadnât had a labor intensive job, but she didnât know if Jax had either, if he would have been particularly strong or similarly tall to how he was in the digital world that would have given him an advantage. Furthermore, he would have lacked his cartoon physics tricks to wield against her. Not that said tricks were doing him much good at present. Did the others in the circus know Jax was so shockingly easy to take down? She didnât spare a glance in the direction of her audience to see if they were surprised; if they didnât know before, they did now. Pomni might not have been the only character spared from Jaxâs pranks in the future, for having a viable option of retribution to threaten his nonsense with. Pomniâs train of thought diverted fully to her friends. Surely, she and Jax werenât the only ones affected by this sensitivity-- this âglitchâ. How would they react? It was pointless to be logical, but Pomni mused anyway. How would being ticklish work for Gangle, who didnât have a human body? Or Zooble, with their interchangeable limbs? Or Ragatha, who was made of fabric? Could Kinger laugh with no mouth? Most of all, was Pomni brave enough to test it out on all of them and find out? She considered enlisting or goading Jax into helping her do so, if he didnât kill her first after today.Â
Though, Pomni doubted Jax would seek revenge of a painful or malicious kind; for all his joyful jabbering, he hadnât once asked her to stop. Their bodies may be changed or glitched, but their minds were free from Caineâs influence. Pomniâs body may have been about as ticklish as her old one, but her mind still enjoyed the sensation and laughter-high of it the same. So if Jax was having fun, it was all him. Even if there was variance between their bodies, at least some of Jaxâs happiness wasnât programming. Grinning, Pomni reserved that revelation to be another theory tested on another day. For now, she had a game to make the most of, and she probably should have kept some amount of focus on her motivation so both she and Jax could pretend their squabbling hadnât settled into something just plain fun. No no, of course not, this was serious vengeance.Â
Recalling the way her soul had been momentarily terrified from her body when that centipede had fallen onto her head, Pomni actually slowed her attack, lightening her touch and redjusting her targets until she was spidering her fingers up and down Jaxâs sides and poking at the edges of his stomach that werenât protected by being pressed to the floor. His cackling softened to a sweeter sound, breathy hee-hees of tongue-bitten laughter. Pomni let herself be distracted by the adorable sound rather than delve for the soft spot he was blatantly trying to keep her from. âCome on, Iâm not even asking you to say youâre sorry. Itâs gotta be easier to just say a number, right? Just spit it out, or⊠Iâll have to get reinforcements.â
Jax snorted at that. âAw, canât finish the job yourself?â
âDonât have to,â Pomni said, granting him momentary mercy when she cupped her hands around her mouth and looked to the hall. âHey, guys! Quit being wall ornaments and help me out! I need someone to hold him so I can get his stomach!âÂ
Despite his best efforts to shove his still-smiling face into the floor, Pomni heard Jax grumble, and she grinned all the wider. Her bystanding friends were not so immediately enthusiastic, as Ragatha and Gangle both looked tempted but hesitant while Zooble looked amenable to approach but unwilling to leave the other two behind. Pomni couldnât hear Zoobleâs encouragement from that distance, but she saw Ragatha brighten, smiling and standing a little taller. Gangle visibly needed more convincing from them, but soon her wringing ribbon hands began to rub together impishly.Â
âLast chance, last laugh. How many bugs do I need to find?â said Pomni, trying to wriggle her fingers underneath Jax but being thwarted as he subtly rocked from side to side. âIâd hurry. After todayâs adventure, they donât look like theyâll be all that nice to you.â
Jax didnât lift his head to watch his doom approach. For a moment, Pomni wondered if he was faking another injury to garner mercy. But then, heâd turned his face away, too, when heâd realized the other circus members could see him laughing before. Was he hiding now? Pomni leaned to one side to get a better look at Jaxâs face. Of course, he was still smiling, but it was a far gentler thing than the mask he usually wore. Relaxed, almost, and accompanied by a fuschia blush on his cheeks and wrinkles at the corners of his closed eyes. Pomniâs hands stilled and smile softened at how unabashedly happy he looked. And, how could he not? Jaxâs pranks, his instigating behaviors, were all to get a reaction and attention out of people. Between his and Pomniâs fights and the giggly retribution, Jax had to be on cloud nine.
Happy, but aware that the vengeance wasnât over, that it was about to get a whole lot worse before he was off the hook. And this was evident by how he, still beaming, tried to replicate Pomniâs earlier method of escape, attempting to swing his heel at the back of her head.Â
âJax!â The awkward angle at which the rabbit had had to kick meant Pomni sat safely out of reach, only feeling the wind from the attack. Regardless, she kept her tone playfully indignant. âOh, NOW whoâs resorting to bloodshed?âÂ
He didnât reply, and Pomni looked over her shoulder to see him winding up for another kick. Quick to abandon her once-safe perch, Pomni jumped from Jaxâs back to wrangle his rascally leg. Sitting on his calf, she could easily pin the offensive limb to the floor, and she ended up facing another prime spot to tickle. No way was he getting away with all his pranking and trying to punt her like a football. Her cartoon gloves didnât have fingernails, but Pomni made up for that with the ferocity she unleashed upon the bottom of Jaxâs foot, madly scrabbling her fingers across every inch of his sole.Â
Beneath her, Jax jolted, but, instead of his laughter resuming, there was only silence. Pomni wondered if sheâd just been unlucky in choosing a spot not as sensitive as ones sheâd already tried, but, just then, Jaxâs other leg began to shake, fluttering kicks against the floor. His lungs caught up with the propulsion and volume his laughter tried to leave him with, and he was bellowing once more, wheezy and croaking.
Pomni grinned. That was a much more fun reaction, even if it meant she had to almost shout to tease Jax. âI guess I should feel lucky that I got an avatar with shoes, huh? Donât have to slog barefoot through sticky kingdoms or stomp through haunted graveyards or⊠well, be in your position right now.â
Through his howling, Jax sputtered, trying to retort, but all he could end up getting out was her name. âPomneeheeheehahaHA!â
Jaxâs free foot switched from swinging uselessly to scrabbling for purchase on the floor below. It didnât look to Pomni like he was making any headway, but then, just as fast as heâd flipped the script on her earlier, he managed to push himself enough to turn over onto his back and subsequently unseat Pomni yet again. She, too, hit the floor and looked up to meet the suddenly too familiar sight of Jaxâs face hovering above hers. But where before his eyes had been narrow and smug, now they were wide and bright, joyfully sparkling like stars in a black sky. His smile was no longer tightly stretched either, effortlessly worn albeit stubbornly twitching when he tried to sober his expression to something less elated.Â
âQuit smiling.â
Not realizing until heâd said something how infectious his genuine grin was and how naturally her face had mirrored it, Pomni snorted. âYou first.â
Before Jax had the chance, he was yanked sharply backwards, his arms pulled wide by a ribbon on his left wrist and a crab claw on his right.Â
âHey, thanks, guys!â Pomni rose to her feet and crossed over to the group, who offered her various nods or thumbs-up if they had a hand free.Â
On her approach, Jax began twisting his arms to break free of his captorsâ grip, but it was no use. With one arm held by Zoobleâs massive pincer, one lassoed in Gangleâs loops, and any backward retreat blocked by Ragatha standing immediately behind him, Jax was going nowhere. âWait! Wait wait wait, we-- we can talk about this--!â
âCan we now?â Pomni replied, kneeling down in front of the vulnerable and vociferous rabbit and cracking her knuckles. âBecause I think youâve made it clear youâre not answering my questions. So all I can really do is try to dissuade you from pulling any more pranks on me for a while by showing you whatâs waiting for you on the other end.âÂ
Pomni afforded him no more time to fill with pointless chatter. Her teeth and claws were bared, and could no longer deny her hunger for justice the final course of its meal. With the speed and chaos of a tickly typhoon, Pomniâs hands dove for Jaxâs stomach, fingers scribbling patterns that swirled up to his ribs and down to his hips and back again. She didnât even have to try to really dig in or find an extra bad spot; no matter where her fingers flew, Jaxâs torso jumped beneath her touch, trembling and then bouncing between instinctive fight and relenting to raucous laughter.Â
An idea flashed across her mind, and Pomni wondered if she had been momentarily possessed by the spirit of her evil doppelganger. Before she acted on it, she grinned up at her helpful friends. Their expressions were a sliding scale but all delighted. Gangle was pink-cheeked and smiling, one hand pressed to her face. (She might have been trying to hide how amusing she found Jaxâs torture for the habitual fear of him getting her back, or trying to still her excitedly looping ribbon appendage which longed to recreate this scenario later in a sketchbook or add to its drama at present.) Ragatha, too, was stifling her satisfaction a bit, biting her lip but offering no help to poor Jax other than letting him smack the back of his flailing head into her plush hand. And then Zoobe was unapologetically smug, free hand on their hip as they watched Jax writhe. It was funny; no one disagreed that Jax deserved this, and no one either could take their eyes off his uncharacteristically adorable and silly and genuine reactions. On one hand, Pomni didnât want to hog all the fun of destroying Jax, and, on the other hand, she might have actually felt a little bad for Jax if she was the only one being as mean as that fleeting idea prompted her to be. âYou guys all have at least one hand free, right?â Pomni said, watching the three charactersâ eyes light up in turn. âAnd Iâm sure you have some payback for him, too. If not from today, thenâŠ?â
There were some eye rolls and shudders as each of them recalled one of innumerable times Jax had messed with them. If Pomni had to guess, Zooble definitely had recourse for Jax stealing their spare limbs and coating the sockets with itching powder, Ragatha had grievances times a hundred and one in centipede pranks, and Gangle was sore from having been used as a climbing rope on that dayâs adventure. Oh yeah, now that they were all up close to the action, it would take very little egging for them to get all their hands dirty. Ragatha struck first, grabbing Jaxâs ears and holding his head still so her other hand could scritch beneath his chin. Gangle and Zooble were no less brutal for still being on capture duty and down a limb each; Zoobleâs plastic claw hand scribbled beneath Jaxâs arm closest to them, and Gangle made use of Ragathaâs grip to flutter her ribbon up and down Jaxâs ears.Â
What a maestro of chaos Pomni felt like, encouraging the offensive orchestra to play Jax like a fiddle. He was a proper mess now, gayly shrieking with such fervor that heâd lost any strength to fight or flee. Wiggling weakly but laughing enough for them all, Jax hung like a hilarious piñata from their hands, never once offering an answer to earn his freedom. Fine, if he was still having fun, then Pomni actually didnât feel all that bad about enlisting the help of their friends, nor for using their combo attack as a prelude to that inspired idea.Â
(Her friends might have wondered, as did she, if it had actually been Evil Pomni to accompany them back to the circus. An identity question for another day.) Pomni let her grin grow feral and wide, teeth sharpening and pupils dilating, before chomping down on Jaxâs side. It was a a mischievous mauling; though her teeth looked sharklike and scary, Pomni was actually being quite gentle. She didnât want to hurt him--anymore. Today.--so she made her attack sound more aggressive than it was by uttering exaggerated nom nom noises. If the sound added to the sensation, she couldnât tell, with how hard Jax was already laughing, but it did make their other friends snicker. Their other friends, who hadn't let up on the back end of the onslaught, compounding with Pomni's newest addition to the sensations. Just to see if she could push him that much farther, Pomni didn't even slow her fingers as she unveiled her biting move. Her fingers were still going, wiggling into the pocket of Jaxâs overalls to get all the closer to the extra sensitive spot on his avatar. It was layer upon layer of sensation stacked upon one another, intensity exponential, all topped with the cherry of Pomniâs pointed teeth nibbling along his ribs and practically tasting the thunder of his hammering happy heartbeat.Â
Jax held his own for a pretty impressive thirty seconds. âThree!â he wheezed through wailing laughter. âThree! Threeheeheehee!â
All actions slowed to a halt at Jax waving his white flag. Primed to expect a trick though, Pomni kept her hands threateningly near his stomach, even as she sat back and ran her tongue across her jagged teeth. âWhat was that?â
Heaving in air with a ragged cough, Jax sagged in the arms of his captors, pointedly looking at none of them or the jester who'd questioned him. Even as his gaze darted away, his grin was still present on his face, albeit dazed with the echo of hysteria. âThree, okay?â
âYou--â Pomni started, then sighed, shoving him in the stomach before withdrawing her hands. âThree centipedes in one room is just overkill, you know that, right?â
âWell,â and Jaxâs grin took on its usual mischievous sparkle as his eyes lifted, âtechnically, there are only two in your room.â
All other gazes in the room followed his, looking up at Ragatha. Herself, Ragatha had sent her eyes heavenward with a long, exasperated exhale. Practiced with a new response, she forwent her usual admonishments and shoved her hands under Jaxâs arms, digging her fabric fingers mercilessly between his ribs. Zooble and Gangle had loosened their grips on him enough that, when laughter burst once more from his lips, Jax collapsed backward against Ragathaâs legs, unable to hold himself up and finding no escape as Ragatha followed him to the floor.Â
âThere you all are! Iâve been looking all over for you!âÂ
Kingerâs appearance drew the attention of the group members who werenât otherwise occupied. He emerged from the hallway, waving excitedly and eyes shining. Ignoring or unbothered by the chaos of Ragatha and Jaxâs one-sided scuffle, Kinger went to Pomni, offering a hand to help her to her feet.Â
âI have to thank you, Pomni--and you, too, Ragatha!--for all these beautiful additions to my collection!â Kinger tugged open the collar of his robe to reveal three centipedes, strokes of red, green, and blue snuggled in the white fur. âI hope you donât mind that I went and got them myself from your rooms; this first little devil let it slip that he was expected to be surprised by his friends.â
Ragatha moved so fast to keep from looking at the leggy creatures that she seemed to glitch, just suddenly standing facing away from the group and leaving Jax to slump to the floor with cartoon stars circling over his head. âNot at all, Kinger. Iâm glad you found them,â said Ragatha without turning around. She leaned over Jax, crossing her arms. âAnd you can be glad, too; you get to live another day.â
âJoy,â Jax coughed.
Zooble shifted subtly to stand between Ragatha and her little phobias, watching as Gangle began the walk with Kinger back to the dormitory.Â
âSo, do they have names?â Gangle asked, tentatively holding her ribbon hand out to one curious crawler.
Kinger gasped. âJax! Youâre on the floor!â
âKinger?â Gangle prompted, only jumping a little when he shrieked at her tapping him on the shoulder. âDo all of the bugs in your collection have names?â
The two disappeared in the shadow of the hallway. âOh, thank you for asking! You know, they donât, but Iâd bet they would love some.â
âI could help you brainstorm some ideas, if you wanted.â
âOh! Wouldnât that just be dandy of you!â
Their conversation faded from intelligible to just excited tones in the distance. Zooble touched Ragathaâs arm, and she turned around with a grateful, tired smile.Â
âAt least, weâll all sleep easy,â Zooble said, nudging Jax with their pincer as they stepped around him. âSo, youâre welcome, bunny boy.â
Jax lifted a hand to flash them a middle finger, but the motion was so heavy and uncoordinated that it didnât warrant a censor bar.
âGood night, guys,â Ragatha said, following Zooble but trailing a bit, looking at Pomni with a questioning eyebrow. Pomni gave her a little wave and a thumbs-up, and Ragatha chuckled, reassured. She mirrored Pomniâs gesture before walking after Zooble.
Once again, it was just Pomni and Jax in the room. Though she was feeling the day finally beginning to weigh on her, Pomni didnât go with the others and crash on her bed as she had been so ready to do a half-hour earlier. No, she had put Jax through the wringer (rightfully), and she would have felt bad leaving him alone to recover. She did feel awkward just standing there in the meanwhile, after all the chaos of the evening. Her hands felt itchy with inactivity, so she rubbed her palms together and clasped and unclasped her fingers.Â
After a few minutes, Jaxâs breathing had evened out, and he pushed himself up to a sitting position, shaking out the wiggly shape his ears had taken on. He noticed Pomniâs presence and scoffed, tipping his head toward her. âI'm too beat to get you back; you don't have to pretend to be nice and wait around to placate me.â
Pomni mimicked his movement, tilting her head to one side. âI'm not pretending.â
âYou should be,â he tried to threaten, rubbing away the phantom tickles under his arms. âAfter that, I'm not taking it easy on you next time.â
âFair enough,â Pomni said with a smirk and a roll of her eyes. âBut I won't either.â
Jax shook his head, looking away from her, and the smile that spread upon his face was warmer than the digital sun, softer and more sincere than any that Pomni had been basking in that night. âI knew you were gonna be trouble.âÂ
Somehow, that was the nicest thing Jax had ever said to her. Pomni ignored her rosy cheeks and snickered at that thought. She gave her hands something else to do by holding them out to Jax. When he reached out to take them, Pomni pulled them back, grinning. Jax didn't let her revel in the moment, using his long reach to grab her hands anyway. Pomni pulled against his hold to keep from being brought back to the floor, leaning backward and digging her heels into the floor. Giggles, contagious and easy, overtook both of them and their tug-of-war. Apparently done with being bested for one evening, Jax slackened his grip, causing Pomni to stumble, and shot to his feet, swinging her up onto his back. Pomni squeaked in preemptive terror, but she slowly relaxed as Jax wrapped his arms around her back, holding her securely to her perch with, incredibly, no funny business. His hands were dangerously close to where he'd learned and promised to attack without mercy, but his fingers were safe and still. âYou really trust me back here?â Pomni asked, crossing her arms and resting him on his shoulders.Â
âI trust that you know I'll drop you if you try anything,â Jax replied, grinning back at her. âThis is a free ride. How about you try being grateful? Even if the altitude change makes you wanna hurl.â
He jostled her but didn't let her fall, and she flicked the back of his head. Unbothered, Jax only snickered, and Pomni rested her chin on her arms. Tiredness sank into her body all the faster in such a comfortable spot, warm and with a gentle rhythm of Jaxâs breathing and bobbing sway of his gait. âBut how do I know you won't drop me just because it's funny?â Pomni asked, her eyelids drooping closed.
