(Tickle) Fight Club; Chapter 2
Panda’s Notes: I just love this AU. >w< I hope you guys are having fun with it too.
[Ao3] || [Cookies Found: 0] || [Commissions] || [Ko-fi]
[1] || [2]
Warning: This is also almost 10k words. Everyone gets at least a little bit wrecked. >w<
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The Rec Center out on the edge of Queens was always just a little quieter on weekday mornings. The after-school clubs were, well, after school, and most of the noisy people popped up after their work shifts.
Now who did that leave?
Well, so far, it looked like mostly seniors. There were yoga classes, a quilting club, maybe three different book clubs meeting at the same time, swim class; probably a few others.
Sweet old retirees were only about 80%. So, what comes after that?
College kids and freeload—freelancers.
Miles blinked at the middle-aged receptionist that he’d been attempting to make small talk with while waiting for the others. That was an…intriguing Freudian slip. He made a show of putting his jacket back on to cover his Princeton shirt, and the receptionist huffed and glanced back at his papers.
The door suddenly opened, and Miles recognized the voices making up the loud chatter.
“Ugh, speaking of…” The man murmured, and Miles wasn’t sure if he wanted him to notice the side-eye he was giving or not.
Ganke, Margo, and Hobie approached the counter, and Margo was not nearly as shy about glaring at the older man. Miles nearly flinched out of his skin as Hobie dragged a finger up his spine, and the cutting look in his eyes went dull when Hobie winked and smirked.
“Morning, Charles.” Ganke said with a casual grin. “Can we get 230, please?”
Charles huffed, reaching under the desk. There was a clatter of metal, and Ganke reached to pull the clipboard on the counter toward himself. He quickly signed something and politely thanked the receptionist as he took the key, ignoring the way they were shooed away from the desk. Miles crossed his arms, about to step back when:
“I don’t see why you hang around folks like that, Brown.” The man grumbled.
Hobie chuckled, shrugging without taking his hands out of his pockets. “Someone’s gotta keep them outta trouble, yeah? Cheers, mate.”
Miles did a full double-take before following the group to the hall. “You’re the one he likes?”
“Call me a paleontologist, eh? The way I work dinosaurs.” He snorted, and Margo punched his arm with a laugh. “Just a bit of my glamour though, innit, love?”
Miles might have been watching his hands more than listening to his words. He was wearing several rings and bracelets on the hand he kept gesturing with, and Miles kept staring until one of his fingers tapped his nose as they got to the elevator.
“Yeah, we’re not entirely sure what his problem with us is.” Ganke sighed, resting his hands in his pockets.
“We’re not?” Pavitr chimed in, looking up from his phone. “I remember something about ‘Obnoxious Flamboyant Queers’—”
Gwen stifled a laugh, and Ganke winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, thank you, Pavi…”
Pavitr shrugged, sneaking himself next to Miles as they all crowded into the elevator. “He told me that before he knew I was with them.” He chuckled, and Miles subtly tried to peek at what he was scrolling through. “Don’t mind him, though, Fish. He’s just an old gossip, likes to run his mouth without watching it.”
“We show up in costume one time…” Ganke huffed, leading them through the hallways to the same meeting room from days before. Everyone spread out for a moment, tossing their bags and jackets under the side table or onto the sofa against the back wall. Miles was careful to squeeze his backpack up against the side of the sofa, and Hobie set a fabric guitar case decked out in patches and colorful binding in the corner.
“Ain’t you a sight today, too, Freckles~” He murmured with a faint whistle, brushing freshly painted nails across Miles’ cheek as he walked back to the others. Miles rested his hand on his face; his cheek was warm.
Those marks on Hobie’s face seemed familiar; if his brain could shut up, maybe he could place it.
“Alright, Miles, step on up!” He flinched a little as Margo called him, turning to find them gathered around the big office chair that had been at the desk in the other corner. He grinned nervously, fidgeting with his hands as he took hesitant steps toward them.
“C’mon, cutie~” Margo called again, gently taking his hand as he got close and setting him into the chair. “All you, Tiger.”
Ganke stepped forward, clapping his hands together as he began. “Okay, Miles, let’s get the boring stuff out of the way; as team lead, I get to welcome you officially to our little chaos factory.”
Miles snickered, shifting the chair a bit with his foot. “They put you in charge, huh? Chaos factory might not cut it.”
“Well, I call it ‘Acting Manager’. Our little ‘Founder’ isn’t here, and I can’t trust Hobie with anything ‘bureaucratic’, so…” He rolled his eyes with a little grin as Hobie stuck his tongue out. “Anyway, yeah, things to keep in mind: The bottom line is respect. We respect space; we respect boundaries. Even if you join, you never have to do anything you don’t want to do. Everyone has their role, even outside of the ring. Safe words are the law; if you intentionally disrespect someone’s safe word, we are legally obligated to cave your head in. This room is where we usually meet for big projects, but generally, we just hang out wherever we like, a lot of planning gets done on the Discord and such. You’ll probably see this room a lot to start, since you’re new, but we know all the best places; trust me. Oh, big thing, should have said this: we do run a social media thing; sometimes we post little sessions we do. Nothing gets posted without the consent of everyone in the video; we’ll pull down anything if someone gets uncomfortable after the fact; and if it comes to it, we will delete stuff from the drives and any copies that might be floating around. Everything we can from our end.”
Miles focused on the explanation; it felt like hearing someone read out terms and conditions, but this was the first time he really knew it was important. The others looked serious, only occasionally glancing at Miles while Ganke spoke. It was a little weird, considering how he’d met them all.
A smile crossed Ganke’s face, and he chuckled. “You always look so nervous when you focus. At ease, soldier.” He teased, patting Miles’ shoulder as he walked around the chair. “Now, Miles, I like to think I know you by now, so I think you’re a good fit for the club. You know everyone here has a good impression of you. Naturally, you get final say. You wanna hang with us?”
They all seemed to light up a bit as he glanced at them. They weren’t good at hiding it, either.
He laughed softly, sitting up straighter. “Of course I want to hang out with you guys; I thought we established that much.”
Ganke clapped his hands sharply, grinning excitedly as he stepped back. “Well, alright! That’s the contract done, which means you get to enter the Gauntlet of Death~!” He reached suddenly, fluttering his fingers against Miles’ shoulder.
Miles giggled brightly, playfully shoving his hands away. “The hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means we’re going to go around the group, draw straws maybe, and everyone introduces themselves. Ice breakers and initiation.”
“What exactly is the ‘death’ part?”
“You know what the ‘death’ part is, don’t be cute.” Ganke pulled the arm of the chair, turning him slowly as he spoke. Whoever’s turn it is: they get…two minutes?”
The others nodded excitedly, and a nervous smile crept onto Miles’ face.
“They’ll do an ice-breaker; you’ll get to see their style, and then, they have to show you a clip from our files. Basically, like, we tease you, but you get to see us vulnerable too.”
“Really, now?” Hobie leaned onto the back of the chair, and there was a collective eyeroll through the whole room. “Ain’t exactly easy to find one of you lot getting the better of me.”
“I have at least twenty results that say otherwise, but alright.” Gwen taunted, flinching with a squeak when Hobie glared at her.
“Anyway—” Margo spoke up, gently elbowing Hobie in the side. “How are we going to take turns? I can look for the straws again.”
Hobie leaned suddenly over the chair, one of his hands poking Miles’ cheek. “How ya feel about spinning, love?”
“Yes.” He said immediately, overlapped by Ganke’s “Absolutely not.”
“Aw, Tiger~” Hobie teased, rocking the chair slightly. “He said he wants to.”
“Miles would say yes to jumping out of a plane. We are not playing Spin the Bottle with my friend’s brain.”
“You guys play Spin the Bottle together?”
Ganke rolled his eyes, and Miles didn’t miss the blush on his face or the others snickering. “Not anymore.”
Hobie ruffled his hair to get his attention. “Because I always win.”
The smirk on his face did not help Miles’ flailing thoughts. “I-I… Wait, how do you win at—?”
Ganke had grabbed the arm of the chair, pulling hard to spin the chair as Hobie jumped back. “Step up!”
There was an excited sort of shock throughout the group before someone stepped forward and grabbed the arms of the chair. Miles flinched with a laugh as Pavitr leaned close to him.
“Uh, hey! So, I’m Pavitr Prabhakar.” He said confidently, steadying the chair before resting his hands on his chest. “I do most of the moderating on the socials, take most of the photos, and I design the costumes. Speaking of, we need to design you a costume.”
Miles nodded, and he was about to say something when Pavitr’s hands suddenly moved to his shoulders. His nails dragged slowly along Miles’ arms, and he fell into soft giggles as he curled away from him.
“That works on you, huh?” Pavitr grinned brightly. “And how about here?” He shifted to scribbles on Miles’ elbows and giggled as he snickered and crossed his arms.
It couldn’t have been an entire minute when Pavitr stopped, but he aimed some quick pokes up Miles’ sides before he pulled away and fished in his pocket for his cell phone. “Okay, it’s kind of goofy, so no judging me, but the numbers are pretty good, so I think you’ll like it.”
He set the phone in Miles’ hands, casually resting his elbow on his shoulder and leaning on him.
The clip started with Gwen, actually. She held her phone camera up to a wall mirror and waved. Hobie walked briskly behind her, putting up two fingers behind her head before ruffling her hair. Both of them laughed, and when Gwen turned, the camera got a clearer view of a small box held under her arm before it cut to a different room. Gwen had angled her camera somewhere up above a table, and she sat across from Pavitr, who was drawing something on a tablet. After a few seconds, she shifted her arms, pulling the box up from her lap and pushing it subtly toward the middle of the table.
Miles blinked, almost pausing the video. Where had he seen that box before? The video was clear enough that he could see the unique little paint details. He just couldn't remember what they were from…
Pavitr glanced up as she moved, watching her open the box and pull out a little key. The key fit into a little painted-on lock, and a mechanism was wound until it let out a few uncomfortable clicks. When the key was released, the box started to play a jingly version of “Pop Goes the Weasel”, and Pavitr smiled as he watched something the camera couldn’t see for a few seconds before going back to his drawing. Gwen leaned on one hand, watching him with a smirk. “All around the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel…” She sang casually, earning a little chuckle as Pavitr seemed to struggle with drawing something. The camera caught her leg shifting to give him a light kick on the sole of his shoe. “Pop goes the weasel~” Pavitr’s eyes had moved to her as he smiled playfully, but he was quick to return his gaze to his tablet. Coincidentally, this was when Hobie started sneaking slowly into frame behind Pavitr’s chair. He made a shushing motion to her and the camera, and she bit her lip, covering her mouth. “A penny for an artist’s brush; a penny for an easel—” She managed to keep her voice even through stifled snickers, and Pavitr murmured the lyrics with her as he tried to focus. “That’s the way the money goes; Pop—!” Suddenly, chaos. Hobie had lunged close, grabbing Pavitr’s hips right on cue, and Pavitr shrieked, nearly flinging his tablet as he fell into loud laughter from the kneading fingers on his waist. Hobie and Gwen laughed brightly, and she reached to close the music box and grab his tablet before it slipped off of the table.
“Okay, that was kind of hilarious.” Miles smirked slightly as the video ended and Pavitr leaned to take his phone back.
“You think so, huh?” He chuckled, slipping his phone back into his pocket. “It’s actually a teaser for a longer video—” Pavitr couldn’t help giggling at the curious spark that lit up Miles’ eyes, and he poked him teasingly on the nose. “—but you won’t earn that one so easily, Fish.”
Before Miles could tease him back, Pavitr had grabbed the arm of the chair and spun it again, much more gently, but still. Within a few seconds, the chair was grabbed by one arm, and Gwen seemed to flinch when his eyes met with hers. She smiled a bit shyly, shoving her hands into her pockets.
“I’m Gwen Stacy, and actually, the guys kind of stole me from the Theater Club you saw the other day. I play drums, and I write and choreograph the very rare scripted scenes we do. Not to mention trading favors with the Theater Club when we need them.”
Miles grinned up at her, leaning on one hand. “So, you’re an actor, huh? I could see that.”
She chuckled, but she shook her head. “A dancer, mostly. Plus, I do a lot of stunt practice.”
Miles bit his lip on a smirk. He might have been blushing. “So, you joined Fight Club to get into a new character?”
Gwen sneered despite the blush coloring her cheeks. “No, I joined Fight Club to wreck lees like you.” She moved quickly, her fingers scribbling across his stomach and squeezing at his hips. He flailed to grab at her wrists, loud giggles taking over his voice before he could protest.
Ganke leaned in suddenly, catching Miles’ leg halfway through an involuntary kick. “Whoa, okay!” He laughed. “Probably should have mentioned, but he kicks like a horse, so you guys might want t—”
“That’s not true!” Miles tried to argue, a squeak jumping out at another pinch on his hip.
“Uh, the bruise on my ribs from high school would like to object to that!” Ganke snuck a poke at Miles’ side as the others laughed with them.
“Wanna hold him for me real quick?” Gwen asked with a giggle, shifting to the side of the chair.
“Of course!” Ganke smirked and grabbed Miles’ ankles, pulling him down into the chair while Gwen lunged to blow a raspberry against his stomach. He giggled loudly and flailed, held up by Gwen keeping the chair in place.
“Y’know, you are tougher than you look, Fish.” She taunted, helping him back into the chair and punctuating the tease with a poke at Miles’ bellybutton as Ganke stepped back. “Pavi hit the roof when we got to my turn.”
She smirked over her shoulder, only to flinch slightly and giggle at the false step Pavitr gave her in return.
“Yeah, you’re a little too jumpy for me to be scared of you, Ghost.” Miles taunted back, reaching out and playfully beckoning her closer. She glanced subtly over Miles’ head before grinning brightly and sitting on his lap as she pulled her phone from her pocket. Miles tried—and failed—to ignore the heat rushing to his face as she showed him the video.
This video had started with Hobie kneeling on the floor, a pillow resting against his lap that Gwen was leaning on. She fiddled nervously with the sleeves and hood of her sweatshirt, her smile growing brighter when Hobie’s hand moved to pet her hair. Both of them looked up—Hobie smirking as Gwen shrunk with a squeaking giggle—and Ganke walked into frame and got down onto his knees, boxing them around Gwen’s thighs and setting his weight on her legs. He grinned playfully, quickly sneaking a poke on her already bare stomach before holding his hands up for her to see. “Hands.” He said simply, chuckling as she giggled softly. “What’s funny? Are you nervous already?” She glanced at the wall, but she nodded, pressing her own hands to her face. “Because…We’re going to tickle you~?” Ganke rested his hands on her stomach, and her hands didn’t hide how red her cheeks and ears ran. “I think we can assume that’s a yes.” He teased, poking at the back of her left hand. Hobie had glanced subtly at the camera, smirking just a little as he moved his right hand down to scratch lightly at her lower back. She squeaked and tried to squirm, giggling softly and grabbing at her hood again. “Wait, what are you laughing about?” Ganke asked, lifting his hands away from her. “I’m literally not even touching you.” Gwen suddenly flinched, giggling harder and arcing slightly away from the scribbling fingers on her back. “Dude, seriously!” Ganke stifled a laugh, trying to keep a straight face. “We haven’t even started yet! Hobie, what gives here?” “Oi, you’re asking me?!” Hobie lifted his hands away, placing one dramatically against his chest. In the same moment, Ganke’s hands dropped, fingers scribbling wildly across Gwen’s stomach and sides, and both of them sneered as she squealed. “My hands are right here, bruv; I have no idea what you’re on about.” “Well, it’s not me!” Ganke insisted again over her loud giggles, and his hands were immediately replaced by Hobie’s sneaking up into her armpits. He snickered and smirked as she laughed and tried to twist out of his hands. “Your girlfriend’s a goober, man.” “Guess I can’t argue much with that, eh?” Hobie pulled her back to her original position between them, and he clawed another squeal out of her before pulling his hands back. “What do you think, then, love? Ready to start?” Gwen glared up at him, and all three of them burst into giggles right after.
“You are actually the cutest thing.” Miles teased, poking at her side. “And I get the worst cute aggression.”
She pressed her palm to his face, giggling brightly as she fled from his hold and pulled the chair into a slow spin. Miles caught the playful smirk on Hobie’s face as she snuggled into his side, and he tried not to let his gaze linger on them too obviously. This was quickly made easier by the chair arm getting yanked to one side.
His best friend and gracious host smirked at him tauntingly. “Hey, I’m Ganke Lee, and this is Jackass.” Ganke leaned on one hand, gripping the back of the chair and looming over Miles. “Nah, but seriously, I am often your lovely host, depending on the event. I built and programmed our little website where the videos get posted, and a few other little…projects you might get to see sooner or later.”
He winked playfully, and he offered his hand to Miles with a little flourish. “Madam~?”
Miles barely contained a laugh, setting his hand in Ganke’s palm. “Aw, sir, aren’t you taken~?” He teased, giggling at the pout Ganke gave him in return.
“You think you’re so cute.” He accentuated the drawn-out sound by turning Miles’ hand and dragging his nails gingerly down the inside of his wrist. Miles flinched a bit, glancing up at Ganke as he struggled to keep a straight face. “But you still make that goofy face when I—” His grip locked around Miles’ hand, and he drew spiraling shapes into his palm.
“G—W-Wait!” He shoved at Ganke’s arm with his free hand, curling his fingers as he broke into stuttering sort of giggles and squeaks.
“Hm… Seven Silver Satchels…” Ganke hooked his thumb around two of Miles’ fingers, drawing them apart and scratching between them; he sighed, completely unfazed at the squeal and grip on his arm. “I can never remember those little stories. Ooh, except Bee Sting! I remember you loved that one before! Dammit, how did that go…?”
Miles started to laugh, trying to shove him again. He was definitely not in the market to relive much more beyond Ganke’s iron grip on his wrist. “Fuck you; you’d better not!”
“Swear Jar, 5 seconds!” Margo called out, with Pavitr half overlapping her.
Ganke suddenly released his hand, and Miles burst into louder laughter as he kneaded along his hips. “This is what happens when you run your mouth around here, Princess~ And don’t you forget who runs things, either.” He smirked, patting Miles’ shoulders as he grabbed his phone. He dragged the chair in a circle as he searched for a video, shaking his head as he chuckled and turned the phone to Miles.
The video started with Ganke looking just a bit antsy, a nervous smile pulling his lips as Pavitr stepped into the camera’s view and sat with him on the sofa. He lifted his hand expectantly, and Ganke hesitated just a little before offering his own hand. Pavitr took hold of his wrist, moving closer to Ganke as he pulled his arm out mostly straight. “Okay, so. I’m going to tell you a story.” Pavitr said simply, glancing back at Ganke’s nervous face. “Okay…” He said warily, shrinking back just a little bit. “Right, so… It’s about this guy. He’s kind of this grouchy and greedy treasure hunter type. Actually, he might just be a dragon, instead of a person. Anyway, he lives up in this, like, cave house—” As he mentioned the cave, Pavitr’s free hand moved up and scratched two fingers gently on the side of Ganke’s neck, earning a sharp flinch. “—and one day, a genie or something comes out of one of his hoard piles and tells him about this big treasure hidden somewhere along a long, narrow path.” He smiled as he watched gears turning in Ganke’s eyes, poking his cheek as he started again. “The dragon goes out and quickly finds a path nearby. At the very start, there’s this little tunnel leading into a big open cave. The walls inside are all covered with stones, and the floor has soft grass and fascinating little plants and mushrooms poking out. The cave has a spring in the middle, and when the light comes in just right, all of the stones sparkle, and the mushrooms glow. The dragon didn’t really care about all that though. He knew the stones weren’t worth much, and all of the plants might as well be common weeds. But still, he searches for a spot and starts digging.” Pavitr’s hand suddenly shoved under Ganke’s arm, fingers scribbling as he held onto his wrist and smirked at his laughter. “The impatient dragon huffs and leaves the cave, continuing down the path—” Pavitr dragged one finger along his arm, drawing circles along the inside of his elbow. “—Until he comes across this burrow in the ground. He tries to dig into it…” Ganke tried to pull back, giggling loudly as Pavitr’s nails ran wild in that spot.
Miles was a bit shocked at how strong Pavitr seemed to be; he knew for a fact that Ganke could pull pretty hard under pressure.
“And this family of rabbits pops up to yell at him. When he mentions the treasure, they all seem to smile before hopping off and calling him to follow.” Pavitr’s fingers finally walked down to Ganke’s wrist, and Ganke’s cheeks ran red as he watched him warily. He tapped along the tips of Ganke’s fingers as he spoke. “The family led him to a spot where the path branches out, and each rabbit taunted him with an offer of a different treasure. The dragon got so angry that he tore into the ground as he roared to the sky!” Pavitr scratched and scribbled at the center of his palm, grinning toothily as Ganke burst into cackles and shoved against his shoulder. He giggled a bit himself, cringing at the light slaps his captive flailed against his arm. “Yeah, I don’t actually remember how that story ends.” Pavitr shrugged, smirking toward the camera until Ganke’s free hand suddenly grabbed at his hip.
Miles hummed faintly, biting his lip on a smirk. Ganke’s hands…He’d actually forgotten about that. “And you have the nerve to think I’m cute, Mr. Lee~” He taunted.
Ganke smirked right back. “That isn’t what I said, Princess. I think you’re a little brat.” He pulled his phone away, closing the video on his and Pavitr’s laughter and ruffling Miles’ hair as he stepped back.
Miles laughed softly, watching as Pavitr playfully nudged Ganke’s side and Gwen whispered something to him. That’s three down, out of—
The chair was whipped around by one side, putting him face to face with Hobie and Margo. Both seemed to study him for a moment, playful grins taunting him.
“What do you reckon, lovely?” Hobie teased.
“I reckon I’ll lead.” She chuckled, and Hobie pat Miles’ head before disappearing behind the chair. “I’m Margo Kess, cutie. I partner with Ganke a lot; with our teammates out of the game, we do the hosting, more often than not. He says he does most of the programming, but I’m not slacking in that department. I mainly handle server maintenance, though.”
Miles grinned as he watched her. “How’s that been going? I know he can get all competitive when he meets someone good with tech.”
Margo glanced at Ganke, and a slight sneer crossed her face. “Oh, we moved past that already~ Now—” She snapped her fingers sharply, and all of a sudden, Hobie’s hands reached from behind the chair, snatching Miles’ wrists and pulling them over his head.
“Wait-wait-wait!” He squeaked, bursting into cackles when her hands shoved under his arms. She quickly stepped around to the side of the chair, managing to avoid the kicks that started almost immediately.
“Ooh, I know I’ve said it already, but you are just adorable!” Margo curled her fingers, scratching more earnestly with her nails and grinning as he shrieked. “It’s really that bad, huh? I was wondering during the match; you can’t even talk~! You’re such a teasy thing too; I hope you know that the snarkiest lers are always the squeakiest lees.” She leaned close, her voice just barely tingling along Miles’ neck and ear. “Every little trick you use is a little hint at one of your weaknesses. Like so…”
She let her fingers slow to drawn out spirals leading to the centers before circling back. Miles keened in the chair, trying to pull his arms down as he fell into giggly squeals. Margo chuckled, giving him a few final scribbles before pulling her hands away and thumbing stray tears off of his face. Hobie let his wrists go, and he wrapped his arms tight around himself as he caught his breath between giggles.
“There you go.” She pat his shoulder, and he cringed slightly as her fingers brushed too close to his neck. She smirked as she lifted her hands innocently. “Did we learn anything?”
“I…” Miles let out a soft laugh, hesitating to relax. “I bet I learned your weakness.”
She nodded with a smirk “Heh, you’re going to fit in great here. Hobie?”
Hobie chuckled, pressing something on Margo’s phone before handing it off. Margo rolled her eyes, shooting a sharp glare at Hobie before leaning on the chair to show Miles the clip.
The video started with Ganke waving to an apparently hidden camera with Margo working on a laptop nearby. “Margo, can you do me a favor real quick?” He grinned as she looked up. “I left our schedule book up in the meeting room. Should just be on the round table.” She nodded as she removed her headphones. “230, right?” “Yeah, go left from the elevator. But the east staircase is closest to it.” As she waved casually and walked out the door, Ganke grinned toothily before jogging to the camera. There was a familiar clicking sound—a phone keyboard—before the video cut to the meeting room. Hobie was leaning on one of the bookshelves, tuning a sticker-covered guitar with one hand while he looked at his phone in the other. The door opened out of frame, and Hobie glanced up as Margo walked into the room. “Hey, man.” She called to him, approaching the table where the camera was set up. “Sorry, you busy?” “Just some practice.” He shrugged, slipping his phone into his pocket. “You after me?” “No, Ganke said he needs the schedule book? It’s not on the table.” “Oh, damn. I moved that. ‘S up here.” He tapped the decorated spine of one of the binders with one finger before starting to play a few notes on his guitar. Margo set her hands on her hips for a second, chuckling as she shook her head and approached the shelf. She didn’t seem to notice Hobie smirking when she reached for the book. When her hands lifted over her head, Hobie suddenly scribbled his fingers under her arm, and his eyes lit up as she shrieked and laughed. She quickly shoved him backwards, watching him warily until he reached back to unclip his guitar strap. There was a frame of panic in her eyes when he set the guitar down and chased her off, both of them laughing outside of the frame. The video quickly cut to another scene, with Ganke setting up a camera while Margo shouted and Hobie laughed behind him. “Hobie Brown, you lanky prick!” Ganke stepped aside to reveal Hobie standing mostly rigid with one arm over his head. In his hand was a black headband with glittery purple cat ears that perfectly matched the biker jacket that Margo suddenly took off to lunge at him more properly. “Oi, come on now, I thought cats could jump!” Hobie taunted, managing to hold her back with his free hand. Hobie let her get closer, just barely lowering his arm as she reached up. He glanced slightly over her head, and Ganke stepped forward quietly. Just as it seemed like she might grab her headband, Ganke quickly slipped his hands under her arms; she yanked her arms down, nearly falling over as she squealed and laughed loudly. The video turned into a compilation of small clips. All of them ending in Margo getting tricked into being poked or outright attacked. Pretty much all Ganke and Hobie though, the only one with Pavitr ended with him as the one getting chased. There was one final clip at the end: apparently Ganke had asked Margo to grab the schedule book from the meeting room again. Margo had approached the shelves while looking at her phone, but as she noticed Hobie standing there, she paused. He smirked at her, motioning to the book with questioning eyes. She chuckled and sighed, shaking her head. “Nah, he doesn’t need it that bad.” Hobie burst into surprised laughter, pulling her into a hug against his side.
Miles let a few snickers slip out, having barely contained himself from laughing at most of the clips.
“She still falls for that, y’know.” Hobie noted, his fingers playing gently at the edge of Miles’ ear.
“The hell I do!” Margo huffed, giving Hobie that familiar side-eye.
“’Course you do. We just have to be more creative.” Miles barely noticed Hobie’s hand moving behind her shoulder until Margo’s hood was yanked off of her head. She was about to scold him when Ganke suddenly poked her as she was putting it back on.
“I am going to kill both of you.” She said, somehow sounding firm through her giggles.
“I noticed that Gwen didn’t have any little scenes in there.” Miles finally interjected without letting any laughter slip through.
Margo laughed softly, glancing over her shoulder, and Gwen blushed brightly as she looked away. “Oh, honey, Penguin knows not to play with me. Right, Tickle Button~?”
Gwen smiled shyly, hiding her face with her hood and squeaking nervously as Margo approached her.
The room was suddenly quieter: four sets of eyes suddenly focused on something above Miles’ head. He glanced up with a slight smile, finding Hobie leaning casually on the back of the chair as if he were simply waiting for something. He looked back down at Miles and let a smug grin spread across his face.
“Oh? Down to me then, is it?” His bracelets clinked together as his hands dropped to Miles’ shoulders. “Now, I’d hope you haven’t forgotten me already, love, but I’m Hobie Brown. If you hang around our little sites and junk, I make most of the music. With Gwenny, of course, when I need quality drums. Claw likes to waffle about and all, but he is right; I’m one of the three founders of this little thing.” He leaned close, and Miles squeaked as he whispered into his ear. “He’s right about the paperwork too, sweet; I honestly can’t stand that shit.”
Hobie stepped back, dragging his fingers under Miles’ chin while he nudged the chair with his hip. “I liked the way you put it the other day, actually. I am the final boss. ‘S my character when we do that kind of thing. Well, it used to be; the story’s somewhere else now, but we do what we want around here, y’know?”
“You guys have a whole story?” Miles asked with a bit of a chuckle, as if he weren’t struggling to keep from staring.
“Ain’t Shakespeare or anything, but I do think Gwen’s holding out on us sometimes.” Hobie leaned over him, pulling the side of his chin when his gaze wandered toward Gwen again. “If you survive this, we’ll fill you in on it. See whose side you fall on.”
Miles blushed, smiling excitedly as he ran his fingers along Hobie’s bracelets. “You all seem so keen on killing me. You’re making me think I’m the real boss now.”
The light caught on browns and greens in Hobie’s shocked eyes, and the others snickered around whispered comments. Hobie chuckled, loosely taking Miles’ hand and letting one of his bracelets slip over his hand. He passed it over Miles’ fingers with his thumb, tapping the gold band before poking his nose.
“Then I’ll give you a li’l fight, Freckles.” As Hobie looked up, Pavitr tossed him what Miles quickly recognized as the strap from Hobie’s guitar case. Or a spare one, at least. He made a single loop through the buckle, and before Miles could think of a snarky question, Hobie had snatched both of his legs. He quickly realized that the strap was just a scare tactic—not that it didn’t work, of course; the shock that ran through him when it cinched around his shins was something else—but he still found himself flailing when Hobie’s arm hooked his ankles while his free hand pried at the heels of his sneakers. He wasn’t entirely sure who suddenly pushed against the chair to keep him from slipping onto the floor, but the room felt charged with excitement. The others talked over each other before trying to shush themselves.
Hobie chuckled as he glanced back for a moment. “Let’s see what we’re working with, eh?” Miles hadn’t even heard his first shoe hit the floor before Hobie was scribbling his fingers across the mostly black sole on his sock. Miles gripped at the arms of the chair, quickly falling into loud laughter. “Oho, he’s such a ticklebug, isn’t he? Not a safe spot on this one.”
Miles squealed and flailed for a second, his hands clutching at his sleeves. “D-Don’t tease—No!” He tried to struggle, finding Ganke and Margo at his sides to keep him from falling again.
There was a sudden pause. The others gasped softly as Hobie went quiet for a moment. He chuckled again. “Ah, there he is~ Little feckin’ hypocrite.” The other shoe dropped; Hobie’s nails dug right under Miles’ toes, and Hobie sneered as he shrieked. “You can talk all day long, but you can’t take it~? So if I just… Tickle tickle tickle~?”
“Hobie!” Miles nearly whined, and Hobie laughed just a bit tauntingly.
“Oh, and he’s so cute! You’re lucky this is just the test run, love; I know some games that would kill you~!” He scratched purposefully at some of the small sunflowers printed along Miles’ socks before prodding his toes again and smirking as he giggled. “Ooh, I bet you shriek at piggies too, you little punk.”
He tapped his fingers casually on Miles’ heels, glancing over his shoulder again. “What are we thinkin’, lads?”
Miles panted softly and rested his arms over his face, smile stuck on his lips as he listened to the others conspiring.
“Just one more?” Gwen’s voice. Miles felt something tap on his knee and down his leg.
“Once more, eh? I—” Hobie suddenly laughed. “See, this is why you have my heart, Gwenny.”
Miles pulled his arms down, only for Ganke to loosely grip his wrists. He almost started to say something when another shriek ripped from his mouth. Ganke just barely managed to keep him from flailing, hugging him tight as he cackled and writhed. Gwen had looped the tail of the strap between her hands, holding his ankles mostly in place while Hobie’s nails scratched under his toes and the hairbrush in his other hand scrubbed relentlessly over both soles.
“Okay, okay!” Miles laughed, trying to struggle. “Stop it; I can’t—!”
Hobie chuckled tauntingly, tapping Miles’ foot with the back of the brush as he stood up. He took a gentle hold on Miles’ chin, smirking as he looked into his eyes. “Poor, poor Fish~” He pulled his hand away, patting his head before turning to walk. “He’s a keeper, alright, Claw.”
The room got quiet again. Gwen slipped the strap off of Miles’ legs, and Ganke softly rubbed his shoulders as he caught his breath. Both of them watched Hobie expectantly, but they also knew better than to be quiet.
“Uh, Hobie?” Gwen tried first.
“Mhm?” Hobie smirked back at her, resting his hands on his hips.
“Dude, seriously?” Ganke crossed his arms, pouting a bit.
“What? I don’t know what you’re upset about~” Hobie shrugged and took the guitar strap from Gwen, casually shouldering past her to put it away.
“Ugh. This guy…”
“Oh! I got one for him.” Gwen said, quickly pulling her phone from her pocket again.
“No, you fucking don’t.” Hobie snatched Gwen off of the floor, ignoring her surprised squeal and handing Ganke his own phone. “Twistin’ my arm all the damn time.” He stuck his tongue out, playfully shoving Ganke’s shoulder.
“We wouldn’t have to if you weren’t a menace.” Ganke taunted back, poking Hobie’s side. “Swear Jar, by the way. Five seconds.”
Miles heard Hobie laugh before a playful argument broke out, but frankly, he was still kind of winded. He smiled slightly as Ganke leaned on the chair with him and showed him the clip Hobie had apparently chosen.
The final video was marked as another teaser. Hobie and Ganke sat at a table across from each other with a microphone between them. Hobie’s face suddenly changed as he looked over Ganke’s shoulder where the camera couldn’t see; he pouted slightly, and Ganke smirked, lifting the tablet in front of him. “So, Spider-Punk~” He began with a playful smirk. “Our one and only Hobie. Finally got you to sit for a Q and A, huh?” He was speaking deliberately slow, and he rested his chin on one hand. Hobie glared at him with a slight grin of his own, about to speak when his voice caught on a stifled noise. “J-Just get on with it…” Ganke’s grin widened, and he set the tablet down to just watch him. “Aw, but why? We have so much time. The audience has been dying to get to know you; tell us about yourself.” Hobie flinched, stifling a giggle against the side of his hand. “I—That’s what the damn questions are for, isn’t it?” Ganke tsked softly and shook his head, poking something on the tablet screen. “Well, that’s not very nice.” “Wait, no—!” Hobie cracked, giggles escaping behind half a snort. “I’m sorry, okay?” “Ooh, that’s special!” Ganke glanced over at the camera. “He usually doesn’t apologize that fast.” The look in Hobie’s eyes could probably cut glass if he wasn’t struggling to shut himself up. Ganke chuckled and crossed his arms as he leaned back and scrolled through the tablet. “Let’s call it a good sign for what’s to come. I hope you all are as excited as I am. You certainly didn’t waste time filling up the question box for this one. We have about…fifteen that we’re going to try to get through; and we’ll see if Hobie can take the heat~” He spared a glance at Hobie, giving a knowing smirk to the camera before pressing something. While Ganke had been talking, Hobie had let his head sink into his arms on the table, stifled laughter shaking his shoulders while one hand gripped at his sleeve. The microphone managed to pick up some giggly whining—most notably: “Gwendy, c’mon…”—before he suddenly shrieked after the button was pressed. “You little—!” Hobie’s voice broke into near-cackles, and Ganke snickered as the table shook. “Okay, okay; let’s do this for real.” Ganke called teasingly, knocking twice on the table and reaching to pat Hobie’s head while he panted and groaned. “…fucking hate you both.” Hobie huffed out, and the video faded to an end card as Ganke laughed.
Ganke huffed and rolled his eyes hard. “Ugh, he would pick the one where we can’t even see what’s happening. We’ll have to weasel it out of him later.”
Miles laughed softly, nudging Ganke’s arm. “You’re still playing Hot Seat? Without me?! Dude, come on!”
“Somethin’ you know about, Sunflower?” Hobie called playfully, as if he didn’t have Gwen upside down over his shoulder.
Miles scoffed, reaching one hand to lace his fingers with Gwen’s while she giggled. “We raised money for the yearbook playing Hot Seat. Twice! I just had Calculus with people from Mathletes and Debate Club; they’re still claiming the other’s team cheated.”
Ganke snickered. “Seriously? Oh my gosh, it was Skye and Gina, wasn’t it?”
“Yes! Which is wild because I’m pretty sure they’re also dating now.”
“Then maybe Skye can help her with her math problems so she wins the next one.”
They laughed, but then Ganke’s eyes lit up as he grabbed Miles’ shoulders. “Miles! You survived the gauntlet!”
Miles paused and smirked a bit, pulling his hand back. “Um, obviously? It takes a bit more than that to kill me.”
“Like thirty more seconds?” Margo suggested, fluttering her nails against his neck.
The others laughed just a bit teasingly when he squealed.
A new conversation had started up about where they’d be taking Miles for lunch. And by conversation, one means competition. Miles, being more or less part of the reward, wasn’t playing, and Gwen apparently didn’t care much about what they got. Though it was just as likely that she didn’t feel like getting jumped right after being held upside down for five minutes straight.
“So~ Ghost.” Miles began casually, rolling the chair over to where Gwen sat perched on the couch arm while the others fought and laughed over Mario Kart tracks.
She looked up from the stuffed penguin she was fidgeting with, smiling softly at him. “So, Fish.”
Okay, he definitely needed a new nickname now. “I think I’ve received some context clues suggesting that you have a boyfriend.”
She chuckled, resting her chin on the penguin’s head. “I might~ He tends to prefer ‘partner’ though.”
His gaze might have wandered to where Hobie sat trying to sneak tickles on Pavitr’s side. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“What about you? Anyone waiting for you?”
“Not beside some hamsters. And I’m not even their favorite.”
“Aw, you poor thing~!” She poked his nose playfully. “You seem a little too cute not to be hooked already.”
“Well, y’know, if you’re up for fishing.” He smiled as she stifled a giggle.
“What exactly are you asking me?”
Miles cringed, drumming his fingers on the chair arm. “I—Well… You can say no if it bothers you; it’s not like it’d be the first time. But, um…What would be your boundary for a relationship? Like, between us?”
Her eyes widened just a bit, but she grinned and chuckled. “That’s actually really forward; I appreciate you being up front.” She said gently, softly nudging his face with her penguin. “Well~ I wouldn’t say I’m entirely off the market. But I’m a package deal kinda thing right now. If you really want to go for me, you have to take him too.” She smirked playfully, resting her chin on her hand.
“I cannot begin to explain to you how little that bothers me.” Miles barely managed to keep a straight face, and she laughed, shaking her head.
“What are you losers chattin’ about?” Hobie appeared suddenly, and Miles flinched as his breath passed his neck.
“Stop doing that!” He giggled, bringing his hands up to his neck and immediately squeaking at a poke on his side.
“I’ll stop doin’ it when you stop laughing.” Hobie pulled the chair aside just enough to slip his arm around Gwen. “Well?”
“Miles wants to hang with us.” Gwen leaned against Hobie’s side, “The two of us, I mean.”
Hobie seemed shocked for a second—Miles had a feeling he should pretend not to notice—and a smug grin spread across his face. “Aw, Sunflower… You know how I feel about cute lees.” He practically purred, running his fingers under Miles’ chin.
Miles chuckled softly, taking hold of his hand. He started to say something when—
“Yes!” Margo shouted, jumping up and laughing triumphantly. “That’s what you get for starting stuff, Pavi!”
Pavitr flailed as she tried to ruffle his hair, and he and Ganke let her boast for a moment while they put the Switch away.
“Alright, alright; where are we heading?” Ganke smirked as Margo finally turned to him.
“Remember that diner? The one by Midtown High?”
He gasped. “Dude! You should have said that earlier! Miles, you’ll love this place. Everyone pack up!”
The group quickly grabbed all of their things, shifting all the furniture they had moved back into place before locking the room. It wasn’t until they had returned the key and got to Ganke’s van that Miles noticed anyone missing.
“Wait, where are Hobie and Pavitr?” He asked while the others were trying to decide how to Tetris his backpack in with the rest of their things in the trunk.
“Oh, they won’t be long.” Gwen had a knowing grin on her face as she looked down at him, returning her focus to holding Hobie’s guitar case in place while Margo closed the trunk. Sure enough, just as Ganke was starting the car, Pavitr came running up to the side and opened the door.
“Sorry!” He said quickly, scrambling into the middle row with Miles and Gwen and buckling his seatbelt.
“Pav, chill; they weren’t going to leave us.” As Hobie climbed into the van, Miles couldn’t help staring. Each of those marks that he’d seen on Hobie’s face now held a shiny silver piercing of some kind. Both of his eyebrows, both of his ears, his nose, and his lip. He closed the door and let himself sprawl out on the back row, stretching for a moment as he finally glanced at Miles staring.
“Hobie, seatbelt.” Ganke called back, slowly pulling the car out of the parking space.
Hobie smirked slightly, rolling his eyes as he stuck his tongue out. The silver stud there just barely caught the light from the windows before Hobie leaned back to buckle himself in behind Gwen. She reached up to lightly pinch Miles’ cheek, redirecting his staring to her.
“Heh. Freckles.” She teased, patting his shoulder before pulling her phone from her pocket.
Miles grinned to himself, relaxing into the seat. It was going to be a good summer.
