Oct 22, 2024
Sometimes Crosshair’s brothers will randomly invade his bunk for the sole purpose of tickle attacking him and they’ll all just hear Crosshair go:
‘Ugh what’re you doing-wait WAIT!’ And then just so much laughing
seen from Portugal
seen from Australia
seen from Latvia
seen from Yemen
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Latvia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Uruguay
seen from United States
seen from Spain
seen from Chile
seen from Brazil
seen from Belgium
seen from Japan
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
Sometimes Crosshair’s brothers will randomly invade his bunk for the sole purpose of tickle attacking him and they’ll all just hear Crosshair go:
‘Ugh what’re you doing-wait WAIT!’ And then just so much laughing
Predator and Prey- A Bad Batch Tickle Fic
Isolde is my OC who's a huntress with claws and shortblades. She likes to annoy Hunter and gets along well with Omega.
@neppy-34, I used to like your bad batch headcanons and thought u might like, hope this tag doesn't bother you lol
Hunter raced around the ship with the desperation of a dying man. Chases like these happened often with the batch, but getting caught this time had worse consequences. He wasn’t exactly buddy-buddy with Isolde at the moment, and knew she’d use this as ammunition against him. And so, he weaved around the halls until he got to his bunk. Hunter would’ve shut the door, hoping his pursuer would eventually get bored and leave, but he was tackled to his bunk the second he passed the door frame. He groaned from the weight of Wrecker on his back.
Wrecker snickered, having finally caught his prey. He called over the rest of the batch to watch him dish out Hunter’s punishment. Hunter just put his head in his hands, not even bothering to pry himself out from under his brother (believe him, he’s tried). He heard the sounds of boots on durasteel as his brothers flocked to his room. Head still in hands, he could practically feel the smirk that Echo was wearing. He heard tech adjust his goggles in amusement. A quiet tip-tap of smaller feet came pattering in. That must’ve been Omega. She’d seen him like this several times, but it never failed to embarrass him. Their almighty leader, about to be “tortured” within an inch of his life.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here, Wrecker?” Echo said.
“Oh, you know,” Replied Wrecker. “Just the usual- a very ticklish sergeant.”
Hunter felt his cheeks heat up.
“Actually, you know who’d love this? Isolde! C’mere!”
Shit. Said huntress arrived a few seconds later.
“Yeah? What’s… What in the world is happening right now?” A very confused Isolde asked.
Omega clung at her side, clutching at the fabric at the hem of her shirt.
“Hunter here, was hogging the shower, and I decided he needs to learn a lesson or two about sharing.”
Now that got Hunter to look up.
“Hey! I was a minute over what I normally take! One minute!”
“Yeah! A minute too long, in my opinion.”
Hunter just groaned again and lowered his face back down to the mattress in defeat.
“I’m still confused,” Isolde said. Wrecker wiggled his fingers.
“Just watch.”
He brought his hands down to Hunter's sides and squeezed them once. Said man let out a high pitched yelp and a choked chuckle. Isolde grinned maniacally.
“Oooh. I see. The mighty Hunter is ticklish.” Hunter just shoved his face further into the bedsheets.
“The mighty Hunter is very ticklish,” Echo chimed in. “Turns out “enhanced senses” also meant touch.” Hunter mumbled something that sounded a bit like “shut up.” Omega just giggled. Wrecker swiped a finger down his ribs, causing the man to recoil violently.
“Now watch this,” He said.
Wrecker dug his fingers into Hunter’s sides and wiggled. Unable to contain himself, he burst out in giggles, face finally leaving the mattress and hands flying back to pry Wrecker’s wrists away from his body. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t budge.
“Wahahahit! Don’t!”
“Don’t what?” Wrecker asked.
“Dohohon’t tihAHAHA!” Hunter broke off into belly laughter as Wrecker slid his hands up to his armpits. He couldn’t help kicking his feet, causing Isolde to chuckle at his demise. Wrecker took notice.
“Isolde, do you wanna have a go at him?”
Without even letting her answer, he flipped Hunter over, holding his arms above his head. He let out a quiet “oof” when his head hit Wrecker’s lap. His eyes widened.
“Wait! Nononono, get away from me!” Hunter tried to use his feet to scramble away, but he couldn’t find purchase on the bed sheets. “As your commanding officer, I command you to back off!” Isolde just smirked. Hunter swore his blood ran cold.
“Oh, but you forget something, sergeant,” she purred. Even under the threat of death, he’d deny blushing wildly. “I am no soldier.” And with that, she spidered his ribs with devastating claws.
Hunter wouldn’t have been able to hold back his laughter if he tried. He threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut, spewing threats every so often. However, the threats of violence had little effect with him giggling his head off.
“aH! Ihihi’m going to kihihihill you bohohOTH! GAH! DOHON’T!”
She’d found the spot where his top rib met his underarms, scritching with her nails. The man was looking a bit red in the face, so she didn’t keep that up for long. Instead, she switched to skittering her fingers along his neck. His desperate laughter turned into sweet giggles. Her eyes softened at the sound, slightly dazed. That was, until Hunter tried nipping at her hands.
“Hey! None of that.” She formed a claw with her hand and vibrated it into his toned belly. Hunter fell back into deep laughter, shaking his head back and forth to lessen the feeling.
“StahahAHAHAA! NOHOHOHOHO!” He wheezed.
Seeing that he might die any second, Isolde gave him a break, just to be interrupted by a snide chuckle that wasn’t from Hunter. She looked to the doorway, where Crosshair was leaning against the frame, toothpick in mouth. The batch had their mouths hanging wide open; they hadn’t had the best relationship with Crosshair lately, and this rare appearance was unexpected to say the least.
He grinned. “Try the thighs.” And with that, he slunk back into the recesses of the ship.
Isolde turned back to Hunter, who was just catching his breath. The smile she wore was conspiratorial. He could feel his heart drop.
“Well, let’s not let his advice go to waste, shall we?”
She swiped a single claw down the side of his thigh, causing a flinch and a jolt of ticklish energy to course through his body.
“That bad, huh?” She grinned. Hunter refused to meet her eyes. “The silent treatment, hm? That’s alright. I know a way to make you talk.” Isolde squeezed up and down his thighs. Hunter screamed.
“NOHOHOHOHO! STAHAHAHA! PLEHEHEASE!” Okay, “talk” was a strong word. Hunter could barely form a coherent thought, let alone words. He kicked his legs, thrashed back and forth; whatever it took to get that tortuous feeling to stop. Everyone chuckled at his reactions. It was nice to see their oh-so-stoic sergeant smiling for once. Though, he was a bit red in the face.
Thankfully, Isolde noticed he needed a break and stilled her fingers. Wrecker released him from his hold and patted him on the shoulder. Hunter just laid on the bed with an arm strung across his face, taking greedy gulps of air. A dazed smile still sat on his face.
“I…I hate all of you.”
“...”
“Not you, Omega.”
Ship Repairs
This fic is just fluff, Tech being a little shit and Echo trying to function on little sleep lmao THIS IS ALL PLATONIC, GO AWAY SHIPPERS EW
Word Count: 1,189
Warnings: None
This is a SFW tickle fic, if you don’t like that then don’t read :)
“Wrench.”
“Wrench.”
“Solder blaster.”
“Solder blaster.”
“...Hexdriver.”
“Hexdriver.”
Echo let out a low sigh and turned slowly to look at Tech, who was sitting innocently on a crate next to the array of tools being used to fix the haul of the Marauder. The goggle wearing clone tipped his head to the side in question at the ex-ARC trooper’s glare.
Echo exhaled a slow breath to mentally prepare himself, then asked, “What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” Tech said back, head tilting upright again to stare Echo dead-on.
Echo’s gaze only narrowed further. “Tech.”
“Tech.”
“Why are you copying me?”
“Why are you copying me?”
Echo pinched the skin between his eyes tiredly, he was running on too little sleep for this. The missions lately had been hectic and he was not getting enough rest to be diplomatically understanding of anyone’s bantha shit. “Tech, I’d rather not play games right now.”
“Tech, I’d rather not play games right now.”
Alright. It was going to be one of those days.
Tech, while typically quite independent and self-reliant, could have moments where he actively seeked out attention from his other squad members. Instead of just asking like a normal individual, Tech did things the complicated way. He would bait his brothers into light-hearted squabbles by acting like the biggest shithead in the cosmos, indulging his more impish and chaotic side accordingly. Tech knew how to press everyone’s buttons, pestering for long enough and saying the right things that would get a rise out of the other clones and score him the attention he wanted. The Bad Batch all had their ways of dealing with these moments from Tech, but this was the first time Echo had to deal with it himself. Whenever Tech acted like this, the others were around to handle him, but they were all out in town, leaving Echo with the mission of managing the younger clone.
Trying to mimic a stern clone officer from his earlier years as a shiny, he pointed the hexdriver at Tech’s nose with an annoyed look. “Alright, smart ass,” he grumbled. “I’m warning you.”
Tech had a shit-eating grin on his face, not even waiting a second to consider the threat of Echo actually being serious. “Alright, smart ass,” he chirped smugly, “I’m warning-”
Echo grabbed Tech around the middle and wrestled him onto the ground without warning, fighting off a smile at the man’s strangled yelps, clearly trying to hold his tongue from protesting so he could keep the game going. Though, that didn’t keep him from fighting back.
“Do you really want to continue this, Tech? I used to be an ARC trooper, remember?” Echo, even with one hand missing, was easily keeping his brother down. He used to wrestle with his old batch all the time and he’d seen Crosshair take down Tech enough times to know how to do it himself. It almost felt unfair. However…
Tech grinned up at his brother through their tangled arms. “Want to continue this, Tech? I used to be an ARC trooper, remember?” He shot back gleefully, putting on a voice to match Echo’s tone inflections.
“Son of a-” Without hesitation, Echo’s scomp link gently delved into Tech’s ribcage, mercilessly needling into the tender bones and earning peals of startled laughter. Tech wriggled into the dirt fruitlessly, trying to bat at Echo’s scomp, only to have a wrist snatched up and the mechanical limb prodding into his unshielded armpit, producing a sharp squeal instantly.
Tech never would’ve anticipated Echo to use such outlandish methods like this. He got this from Wrecker and occasionally Hunter, but the cybernetic clone was an outlier to be sure. And not only was he an outlier, but he was also really skilled at this. Tech was spluttering and giggling like a madman, and it hadn’t even been a minute yet. His lack of speech had caught Echo’s attention, and the smirk on his face was downright smug.
“What? You run out of steam, copycat?” Echo asked as Tech gasped and wheezed for breath. “No more little comments?”
“Y-Yohou ruhuhun ohout- hehehehe- ohohof steheheHEHEAM-!”
Tech’s attempt to continue the joke was interrupted by Echo’s finding a sweet spot on his upper ribs, causing an uncharacteristic screech to pull from the usually stoic clone. “St-Stohohop!”
“Oh my word, did you say something original?” Echo feigned surprise, though his tone was flat and somehow made Tech laugh even more by the dryness of the comment. “Incredible, let’s see if I can get you to do it again.”
He probed and wormed his scomp into the spaces between Tech’s ribs in an unguessable pattern, keeping the enhanced clone in a flurry of giggles and never letting him get used to one sensation. The onslaught was breaking Tech’s will faster than he expected it to.
He yelped when a particularly sensitive rib was prodded and tickled by that damn scomp. He couldn’t stop the yelp from leaving his lips. “Ehehecho!”
“Look at that, you did do it again. Congratulations Tech.”
“DohoHOHON’T!”
“Three times, a breakthrough indeed.
Tech used his free hand to grab the scomp link, shoving it away from his ribs so he could get a breather in. Echo let him, having heard the gasping in Tech’s voice increasing as he’d been laughing.
“You learned your lesson yet, gremlin?” Echo asked, reminded distinctly of his play fights with his twin and asking that very same question. Tech blew out a breath, slumping in the ground and nodding.
Echo wasn’t buying the silence.
He tore his captured scomp from Tech and poised it at his ribs again, smirking at the wild yelp that burst from Tech as he flinched away from the ‘danger’.
“I wanna hear it, Tech,” said the ex-ARC trooper. “I want you to say, in your own words, that you’ve learnt your lesson.”
Tech, eyeing the scomp link dangerously close to his sensitive ribs, gave a nervous giggle and gulped. He knew better than to poke the disgruntled Tonton with a stick, or however that saying went. “I- I’ve lehearn’t my lesson, Ehecho,” he grinned at the older clone through squinted eyes.
Echo huffed an amused laugh at how giggly Tech still was. “There we go, that wasn’t so hard was it?” He took his hand away from Tech’s wrist to mess with his short, cropped hair and stood up. “What on earth was that even about?”
He turned back to the ship and picked up another tool to continue his work, letting Tech sit up and gather himself after the ‘attack’. The enhanced clone gave a small chuckle and smiled mischievously up at Echo’s back. His need for attention wasn’t done yet.
“Well… You’re the one repeating things all the time, guess I wanted to try it out for myself.”
Echo’s movements froze and his eyelid twitched slightly. He threw the tool aside and was diving at Tech before the trooper had the sense to run for the hills, his bright laughter filling the air once again. This time riddled with shrieks as Echo ruthlessly targeted his upper ribs, both with his scomp and his hand.
When Crosshair is being a little shit Wrecker holds him upside down and squeezes his sides until he feels like he’s made up for it I said what I said
Parade Rest
Fandom: The Bad Batch
Word Count: 3,753
Summary: The rules are simple: don't move. Echo might argue that simple isn't what he'd call it.
Ao3 Link: Parade Rest
This is a tickle fic
“The rules are simple. Get your teammate to break parade rest.” Hunter said as he stood in front of his squad, all dressed down to their body gloves for comfort. They stood in a loose line in front of him, waiting. They’d gotten restless on the ship and all it took was one snap from Crosshair - in Wrecker’s direction - to clue him in on finding them an outlet. Something to pass the hours in hyperspace. His best idea was a game they played often, something to keep them occupied and bring out that competitiveness in them. “As you are aware you can do anything to get them to move except for physically moving them yourself. This is meant to test your endurance and discipline not your strength. Annoy each other, pick on their weaknesses, but you can’t do it through force. Looking at you, Wrecker.”
“It was one time.” Wrecker grumbled.
Hunter ignored him but his mouth twitched into a smile regardless. “No pain, don’t go crossing any physical boundaries, and no fires, please. We don’t want a repeat of that one time Tech refused to move after Crosshair set fire to a blanket.”
“In my defense what I had wanted was a small distraction, not a fire. The fire was not purposeful.” Crosshair tsked, arms folded over his chest like a disgruntled cadet.
“That’s maybe worse.” Hunter ran a hand down his face, heaving a sigh. They weren’t always well behaved, but they were his so he was willing to put up with their shenanigans. “Who’s going first?”
“I’ll go.” Echo offered, scomp raised. No hesitation, not even a second to think. He was met with a raised eyebrow from Hunter.
“First time doing this exercise with us. Should make it challenging I hope.” Hunter commented as the rest of his charges got themselves ready. They were well versed in this training exercise - game - but a new opponent would keep them interested.
“I intend to be challenging.” Echo smirked in the midst of all of their oooohs.
“He talks big.” Wrecker seemed particularly pleased as he chuckled.
“Anything you want off limits before we start? We know each other’s lines, I’d like to know yours.” Hunter folded his arms over his chest and waited. He didn’t know Echo quite well enough yet to know what was out of the question. If you touched Tech’s goggles there would be problems, mainly a shove hard enough to topple you before he swiped them back. Wrecker did not like it when they threatened Lula. He sulked for an hour after Crosshair nearly tore the stitching on her ear. To Crosshair’s credit he offered to reinforce her stitching. Speaking of, their sniper refused to allow them to touch the firepuncher. It was a weapon not a toy, as he always put it. Meanwhile, Hunter just never wanted them to screw with his senses. It wasn’t ‘fair’ but it also gave him migraines. The point was not to hurt, in any way, your teammate.
“I have never been quiet in my discomfort. If you do something I object to, I have no problem telling you.” Echo shrugged. In the face of Echo’s confidence was the dissatisfied raised eyebrow that Hunter was so good at delivering. Everyone had lines you didn’t cross. Echo would be briefed on theirs so they needed to know his. The last thing they needed was Echo to swear he was ‘up for anything’ only to take the scomp to the face when they did the wrong thing. Their little standoff didn’t last too long, Echo shuffling uncomfortably under the scrutiny before giving in. “Don’t fuck with my ports. I will swing at you.” The polite smile was about as dangerous as a threat as far as Hunter was concerned.
“Noted.” Tech piped up as he adjusted his goggles, ready to take this challenge by the horns. And a challenge Hunter was sure he would be.
Echo survived the unimaginable. He survived more than anyone else they’d met, their little attempts at disarming him should be a walk through Coruscant.
Hunter walked around Echo, prompting him with a gentle tap on the wrist to move into a parade rest, his scomp held in his hand behind his back, head high. “You are allowed to react, just not move out of position. That means your feet, your arms, and your stance, must remain intact. Talking, complaining, gloating, as annoying as Crosshair can get with it, is all fair game. Understood?” Echo nodded, already holding steady while instructed. This one was bound to be fun even if they couldn’t get him quite as soon as he’d like. Hunter rounded him until he faced Echo, stepping back to allow the other three a chance at him first. They surrounded him like a pack of hungry Nexu but Echo paid them no mind. He wouldn’t be able to ignore them for long. “Alright, boys. Let’s take him down.”
Trying to get under Echo’s skin was a challenge. He had the strength of an ARC trooper, the will of a man who could withstand anything, and stubbornness that could rival their own. Their typical attempts at irritation weren’t working. No threats of messing with his stuff or even actually doing it got him to crack the tough exterior he put on. Tech tried bribing him with extra rations which definitely would’ve worked on Wrecker. Even threatening to place the gross, sticky, goop that was growing underneath the control panel on his head did nothing but get an unimpressed raised eyebrow. Even Crosshair was growing impatient, unsure what to do to make this man move an inch.
Hunter had expected this to be difficult, had even pondered how far they’d have to push before he moved, but he was holding out a lot longer than even he could’ve anticipated. Touching his stuff wasn’t working, nothing seemed to draw his attention, not even the irritating puff of air Wrecker kept blowing on his neck seemed to draw even an ounce of irritation. Echo stood strong in the face of their annoyances, like the ARC trooper he was.
That is until Tech ran his fingers over the side of Echo’s neck. The jolt was as contained as it could be, more of a twitch than anything else, but Echo’s eyes widened at the realization that for the first time since beginning one of them had made him move.
Hunter hummed as his grin widened, already amused by the spooked tooka look on Echo’s face. Drawing attention to what worked was possibly the only way to thwart him. “Problem, corporal?” It took a moment after asking for Echo to compose himself, swallowing in more of a gulp.
“No, sir, no problem at all.” Echo’s voice sounded squeezed with effort but the way he pressed his lips together was enough to prove his nervousness.
Hunter’s eyes narrowed. “Do that again, Tech.”
Echo barely had time to brace himself before Tech did it again, brushing his fingers delicately over the area. Air puffed roughly out of his nose, his eyes studying the ceiling to avoid looking at them.
“A little sensitive there, huh?” Crosshair was already prowling closer, amused but devilishly unfair as he stood on Echo’s right to test the patch of skin on the other side.
“No.” Liar. Hunter watched as Echo all but vibrated standing still. Was this a little unfair? Definitely. But it was entertaining to watch so Hunter let it slide.
“This isn’t fair.” Echo grumbled through gritted teeth. Fair wasn’t what they were going for. The only thing refused to them was touching his ports - reasonable - he said nothing about no tickling.
And tickle they did.
“We aren’t physically moving you, you’re allowed to react verbally. As long as we aren’t harming you there is no rule being broken.” Hunter stood back and allowed the action to continue, amused.
“Bullshit.” Echo shook his head to try to rid himself of those mischievously prodding fingers. To his credit, Echo did hold out as firmly as he could. There was a lot of huffing, plenty of twitching as their fingers fluttered over sensitive skin, but he held his stance. He didn’t shuffle his feet, didn’t even try to bend out of the way. He had to give him some kind of credit.
Crosshair was exploring how light he could go before Echo stopped really feeling it while Tech just drew consistent patterns to make the nerves dance as much as possible. There was a tremble in his arm, wanting so badly to slap away at the itchiness that was now tracing against his jawline. Alright, Hunter supposed he deserved a break. He waved his hands to get them to move away as he stepped into Echo’s space.
Already pink in the face and breathing heavy, Hunter didn’t see him lasting much longer. Echo wobbled onto his heels a little when Hunter got close, eyes tracking his hands as long as he could while still standing up straight.
“Do you want to win?” Hunter asked, simple, mean. Echo looked like he wanted to grumble, argue about fairness, but to his credit he deflated instead, nodding. There was something endearingly childish about the way Echo was holding himself. Annoyed at them but playing along, holding it together just long enough to win some points in the game but already plotting his own revenge. It reminded Hunter of when they were cadets and got into play fights. Turns out, Hunter hadn’t outgrown this anymore than the rest of them had, smiling in the face of a very apprehensive ARC trooper. He leaned forward, tapping his fingers against his own thighs just to watch the way Echo’s body jumped in anticipation. “Then stay still, Echo. Although, that’ll be a lot harder when I do this.”
Mercy wasn’t what he was going for as he gently traced what was exposed of Echo’s underarm. There was a little ‘oof’ at the sensation but beyond that all he did was clamp his mouth closed and try to breathe.
“The unprofessionalism-” Echo’s sentence cut off in another huff as fingers wiggled into that soft spot. Hunter could imagine how maddening it was, to be stuck not moving unless you wanted to lose, and have everyone use this weakness against you. Truthfully, Hunter wasn’t sure why he hadn’t laughed yet. Clearly it tickled, every coiled muscle in his body pointed to that, but he hadn’t made any noise other than complaining at them. Hell, he was even fighting a smile, desperate to keep it under wraps. To try and pull the sound out of him Hunter dropped his hands down to Echo’s ribcage and traced, watching his eyes widen.
A whine pulled itself from the back of his throat, choked off, stolen from their ears. It dawned on Hunter that perhaps Echo was holding it on for some perceived rule, maybe even certain laughing would have him lose. That couldn’t continue.
“You’re allowed to laugh, ya know. It won’t disqualify you.” Hunter provided the permission, digging his fingers in a little harder to drive his point home. Echo twitched under the touch, face splitting into a wide grin. Hunter nearly lost his own composure when Echo’s ragged breath turned into an improperly suppressed giggle. Damn, that sound was going to make him start grinning. “See, there ya go. It feels so much better to just let it out, doesn’t it?” Hunter teased. He chased that sound with another gentle wiggle, pinpointing the spots on his ribs that got his breath to hitch with his laugh to keep pulling that sound out of him until his eyes were squeezed closed from just how big he was smiling.
Hunter cocked his head so Crosshair and Tech would return, their antics just as irritating as the first time, but now they had the melody of laughter to play to, getting some lighter giggles when Tech traced his neck again. What nearly got him to bend was Crosshair’s curious pokes at his sides which turned into his fingers squeezing deliberately.
“Shit shitshitshihihihit!” Echo complained at the intrusion but, still, wouldn’t budge. Flushed and laughing himself mad, Echo refused to give. They may be overall gentle about it but this still would’ve make most of them break. Hunter had to hand it to him, he had a strong will. For a brief moment he considered the possibility that Echo would let himself be tickled to death before admitting defeat, and filed it away to put a stop to it before he started wheezing.
“He is a tough one to crack.” Tech commented, punctuated by squeezing his neck in a quick succession of three that made Echo yelp. “I would suggest your previous experience has left you more willing to endure the sensation but I’d need more information to prove that. Did this happen to you a lot before us?”
“What is this an interrogation?” Echo forced it out before dissolving into more tittering, getting worse when they alternated squeezing and tracing. They worked in tandem to keep him on his toes, his body desperately wanting to pull away but still frozen in place. His smile crinkled his eyes, got his cheeks to turn a rosy color. Fondness spread through Hunter’s chest watching it. The vibration of his laugh, deep in his chest until the giggling returned, high and pitchy, could be felt through his own fingertips. Said fingertips were now curiously exploring his lowest ribs, gently rubbing into the bones to make Echo’s laughter jump.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Wrecker chuckled. Curious, he was still standing back. This was the type of thing Wrecker would’ve jumped on ages ago. Hunter was still shocked he hadn’t already tried to drag Echo into a tickle fight prior to this.
“With a mouth like yours I’m not surprised.” Crosshair’s taunt made an indignant glare light up Echo’s features. What his hands were doing was more evil than his teasing. Mischievous fingers had moved to scribble against where his side met his back. Well, as much of it as Crosshair could touch with where Echo’s arms were being held.
“Whahaht does thahahat mean?” Echo tried to glare at Crosshair through his laughter but he was beaming too bright to look intimidating, something their sniper was clearly taking joy in.
“You have a smart mouth and sometimes that calls for playful punishments.” Hunter dove back at his underarms to try and shock him but all he got was a neck full of Echo’s forehead, one last desperate attempt at staying upright and keeping his hands in place. Now he could feel the force of Echo’s laugh against his neck, warm and happy. They’d have to try this when he could fight back. Hunter was starting to see a new tactic to getting Echo to take a break and rest. Pin him and not stop dancing fingers against his tickle spots until he gave in and took a damn nap.
“Come on, Echo, just break stance. This has to tickle too much to tolerate.” Crosshair resorted to scribbling up and down his sides but all it did was get Echo to tug his arms in tighter. Something had to get him to break his stance eventually.
“Here, I’ll get him to move.” Wrecker cracked his knuckles as he stepped closer and they vacated enough space to allow for whatever was coming. Nervousness settled on Echo’s face, smile wobbling in the face of Wrecker’s threat, but nothing could’ve compared him for what came next.
It was so quick Hunter almost missed it. One second Wrecker was slipping his fingers under the hem of Echo’s shirt, and the next he was already bending over.
“Fuu-UHUHUHUCK!” Echo exclaimed as he crumbled to the floor, Wrecker didn't let up and followed, hand still scribbling at his stomach.
“Good work, Wrecker.” Hunter grinned at the scene. Squirming with all his might Echo couldn’t shake Wrecker’s hold on his middle. If he’d known it was that easy he would’ve done that minutes ago. Whatever way Wrecker was moving his fingers had his laugh bouncing, bright and full, around the room. His cheeks were bound to get stuck like that with all the smiling. Echo’s hand gripped onto Wrecker’s wrist but he had no strength left to tug away the offending digits, just hold on for dear life and hope mercy would befall him soon enough.
Good luck expecting mercy from Wrecker.
Wrecker looked up at their questioning gazes, smile big and toothy. “Figured if it wasn’t ticklish enough through the body glove to get him to move maybe this would work better. Plus, none of you tried his stomach yet. You’re missing out, it’s a good spot.” To prove his point Wrecker used his other hand to draw little spirals on the bit of skin exposed, providing what must’ve felt like a little electric shock from the way Echo jolted. That yelp would echo around the ship for hours afterwards.
“Evil! Ehehevil!” Echo complained through tittering.
Tech hummed. “He lasted a lot longer than I anticipated. Eleven entire standard minutes in total. Six with the addition of irritating stimuli.” Oh, right, they were timing it.
“I should get extra points for every- gah!” Echo jolted to the side when Wrecker pushed his shirt up to expose more skin. There was a fight for the upper hand - one Echo was bound to lose - but it was too gentle to be serious. Echo gripped Wrecker’s wrist, blocking his stomach with his scomp, but Wrecker could easily thwart that attempt. The fact that he gave him a few minutes to breathe was honorable. “For every minute of tickling I endure!” Echo’s sentence cut off again when Wrecker got a hand latched onto his middle, fingers vibrating into the muscles. Echo’s body seemed to melt into the floor from that, hand still holding on but not tugging at all.
Wrecker chuckled. “I’ll make you a deal. You let me give you a raspberry and maybe we’ll let you count this in your time.” There was no way Echo’s face could’ve gotten any redder but somehow he managed it.
“B-but, that’s not- ahaha!” Echo stood no chance. None of them did against Wrecker. All ten fingers crawled around the exposed spot like a gentle bug all while Echo squirmed helplessly.
“I'll second that.” Crosshair knelt beside them if only to grip Echo’s hand to pull it away from its steel grip on Wrecker’s wrist. The tickling stopped, giving Echo a little breathing room. ”But you have to let him. No fighting it.”
Mean, just mean. Hunter stopped himself from interrupting. He almost put a stop to it. Too much ganging up on him and he wouldn’t let them do this again but Echo seemed fine and, truthfully, was being a good sport.
“This is ridiculous.” He grumbled but he didn’t move away. From the other side Tech started sneakily recording the scene. Holding onto those memories was Tech’s whole thing. They’d enjoy watching this back later, even if Tech hadn’t caught the whole thing which Hunter doubted.
Conceding, Echo let them manhandle him into a more reasonable position, flatter against the floor instead of curled up. His hand gripped Crosshair’s back tight while Wrecker played up getting prepared. He rubbed his hands together as if about to enjoy a nice meal, took a few big breaths to ‘test’ his lung capacity, then lowered himself to press his lips firmly against the expanse of Echo’s stomach.
The scream he let out made jittery tingles spread through Hunter’s gut. Muscle memory plaguing him as Wrecker blew a relatively tame raspberry against his skin. It was one of Wrecker’s favorite things to do to them but he usually wasn’t so reserved. Keeping it tame for their newbie’s sake.
“ThAHAHAT TIHIHICKLES!” Echo nearly jumped out of his skin but did as he had promised. Staying put despite wanting to cover up.
“One would hope it does.” Tech commented with a wry grin. It wasn’t often he got to stand back and not be a victim of Wrecker’s antics but now that he had the chance he was enjoying every minute of it.
“I’ll allow the extra points this once. You may end up winning today.” Hunter conceded as they finished up their little tussle. He still couldn’t tear his eyes away from them. The pair was grinning so big it was impossible to look away. In the end Wrecker was merciful. Well, as merciful as he could’ve been. He pulled down Echo's shirt for him to cover up exposed spots then sat back on his heels.
Echo sucked in breath. “I better. You’re all cheaters.”
“I did not see any other way to get you to move.” Tech had finally put the recorder away, now looking like he was plotting everyone else’s demise as well. “Next time I will simply start with that tactic.”
Echo’s eyes went wide. “Oh, no you don’t. That’s gotta be against the rules.”
Hunter hummed. “It’s allowed.” He barked a laugh at the offended look thrown at him. “It’s not hurting you, and isn’t a way to physically move you using strength. It’s fair game.” Echo groaned, laying his head back on the floor, arm thrown over his eyes. That smile was still plastered on his face, no hiding that. They’d gotten him to laugh, that was a good enough reason to keep this little rule change.
“Try being less ticklish.” Crosshair teased, although he refrained from poking at Echo’s exposed side which was obviously what he wanted to do with the way his fingers twitched.
“Very helpful, Cross. Let’s see you try to withstand it for that long.” Echo grumbled, peeking out from under his arm.
“He would not last.” Tech replied, getting a glare from Crosshair who suddenly had to slap away a reach from the man they’d just nearly tickled to death.
“He’s too wiggly.” Wrecker grinned, watching Crosshair fall back onto his butt to fend off the threat of nimble fingers. Echo pushed himself up, leaning over to try and latch onto any spot that would get a reaction.
Hunter let them roughhouse, simply grinning when laughter tumbled out of them. From ticklishness or just from playing he couldn’t really discern but he lapped it up nonetheless. It wasn’t often their ship sounded so light, so cheerful, but he had a feeling the next few days would be peppered with cheerful laughter from all of them one way or another.
He couldn't complain about that.
Do You Ever Laugh?
Fandom: The Bad Batch
Word Count: 3,492
Summary: Echo can't get Crosshair to laugh at his jokes. Turns out you don’t need to be funny as long as someone’s ticklish.
Ao3 link: Do You Ever Laugh?
This is a tickle fic
Thank you @iamawolfstarsimp for requesting this ages ago! Sorry it took so long but I’m excited to finally have it done ☺️
Echo was convinced no one had ever made Crosshair laugh before. He certainly hadn’t. That was really starting to irritate him. It hadn’t been too long, just over a week with clone force 99, and things were going a lot better than he anticipated. Integrating into a new group was always going to have its challenges but clone force 99 was far easier to fit in with than he expected. Tech constantly tugged him along for projects he wanted Echo’s help with. Wrecker wanted his company on trips to get supplies. Even Hunter had started asking for his opinion on their plans, giving him freedom to suggest changes where he saw fit.
There was only one glaring problem.
Crosshair. He hadn’t been cruel, nor had he pushed Echo away. They were entirely amicable if not for some petty squabbles every now and again but that was to be expected. The beginning stages were coming together well enough but Echo still hadn’t gotten a good read on him. It wasn’t exactly easy to work with someone who never seemed to crack a smile, never even budged as far as Echo had been concerned. Crosshair was the king of thoughtful looks, head tilted to the side, eyes narrowing as he thought. There wasn’t much Echo could do to make Crosshair amused. Oh, but he tried. He certainly tried. Telling stories, making jokes, attempting to connect with him on a very baseline level. All of it had been met with a careful distance. Not malicious, just guarded. That’s exactly what was happening now as Echo tried to make nice with their sniper. Making nice meant several jokes that he thought were perfectly timed, worked well enough with what seemed to be clone force 99’s particular brand of humor, that would’ve landed with any of the rest of them. However, Crosshair hadn’t cracked a single smile. Hell, he’d barely raised his eyebrow when Echo said ‘I’ll give you a hand’ while holding out his scomp to take an extra supply bag from Crosshair.
Whatever.
Echo knew his puns were funny whether the sniper wanted to admit or not. The rest of the 99 were minding their own nearby, huffing a laugh every so often, or chiming in as they talked. Crosshair was fine sharing stories, humming as he listened, but nothing - absolutely nothing - was getting him to smile.
Was it so bad to want that?! Echo had always gotten at least begrudging amusement at his puns. Interest in his stories that ended with amused smiles. Connections that felt easy and fluid. Crosshair was tough to get to know but mainly because he kept himself under a lock and key, not yet ready to let Echo in. One a level he understood that but the part of him that wanted to get along with his new squad just kept poking at him.
Yet another joke hadn’t landed - this time one at his own expense seeing as Crosshair was always tempted to poke fun at him - and now Crosshair had moved on from feigning disinterest to giving Echo a very disappointed look, shaking his head like he’d never heard something so unfunny a day in his life. Echo glared back in response.
“Do you ever laugh?” Echo asked, trying not to sound like he was complaining. His voice, however, pitched up into something closer to a whine. Maybe pleading would get his point across.
“I don’t laugh.” The deadpan reply was coupled with an eerily detached expression that Echo was just grumpily sick of seeing. With a groan Echo ignored him, huffing and he dropped his chin in his palm. Ignoring him further when Crosshair’s eyebrow twitched smugly. At this point he knew this was just to irritate him. It was Crosshair’s brand. Find the thing you wanted then refuse to give it to you, brag about it when you finally gave in and bickered with him over it.
“That is inaccurate.” Tech’s voice drew Echo’s eyes upward. Tech was standing, datapad in hand, peering over it at Crosshair. Echo watched with interest as the sniper shrugged, still leaning against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Never laughed a day in my life.” Crosshair insisted. You have! You have, you bastard!
“He’s being ridiculous.” Hunter rolled his eyes as he joined the conversation, plopping down next to Echo on the bench. With a huff Echo slumped against Hunter’s shoulder, playing up his disappointment at not being funny enough for their dear old sniper. Hunter accepted his weight, adjusting so he could hold Echo up comfortably.
“Everyone laughs.” Echo reasoned, if not a bit grumbly. Hunter grinned at him in response, a sympathetic pat to his shoulder in solidarity. Crosshair was going to torture him on purpose and he was powerless to stop it.
“Not me.” Crosshair remained unphased, moving only to lean more casually against the wall, slumping now in a way that was done only to infuriate Echo further. Smug son of a bitch always flaunting that aloofness.
“Oh, yes he does!” Wrecker accused, glaring far more intently at his lankier brother. Said lankier brother seemed to actually react to that, body stiffening and eyes widening.
“No , I don’t.” Crosshair bit out. The two of them stared at each other, both of them in a standoff that Echo didn’t quite understand. He raised an eyebrow when Crosshair started to sweat, slowly pushing off of the wall to stand straight as if he’d have to run for his life at any minute. One look at the other two 99s proved he was the only one out of the loop.
“We’ll show you how about that?” Wrecker stood, cracking his knuckles, and that was interesting. Echo looked between them like he was about to watch a fight, and maybe he was. Crosshair was already trying to scoot away, hands held out in front of him to display some kind of call for mercy. Whatever was about to happen had all of the room’s interest and Crosshair seemed mighty reluctant to let it happen without a fight. Wrecker strode forward, the other man shrinking away with a shake of his head, a silent call to stop.
Wrecker didn’t accept that plea.
“Wait. Wait, no!” Crosshair pleaded as Wrecker grabbed his wrists and yanked.
Crosshair was knocked off of his feet in seconds, so fast Echo barely saw how Wrecker got him in the hold, squirming as he was trapped in a bear hug so tight Echo felt constricted. Wriggling, Crosshair’s feet kicked out as Wrecker manhandled him into position - one arm holding him snuggly while the other could irritate at will. At least, irritating is what Echo has expected Wrecker to do.
What he didn’t expect was the other hand to go straight to Crosshair’s side and squeeze - one, two, three times - while choked off noises were forced out of his throat. With another squeeze Wrecker latched on, somewhere near the bottom rib, and wiggled his fingers in as if he’d done this a million times. Well, he probably had, considering that move had those garbled noises turning into panicked laughter.
A smile finally - begrudgingly - split Crosshair’s face in half and Echo, delighted, couldn’t help but match that expression. After days of trying, days of hoping he could get that stubborn man to laugh just once he was getting everything he wanted in minutes with one very simple thing.
“See, told ya.” Wrecker called, brightness in his voice. His fingers moved to spidering up Crosshair’s ribs and that got him to jolt away, his hand desperately grasping at Wrecker’s wrist and pulling.
“Are you tickling him? Is Crosshair ticklish?!” Echo asked, trying not to sound so excited. He knew the answer, obviously, but he needed to get his disbelief out in the open. There was the man that plagued him on purpose, squirming and kicking and laughing while his limbs swung wildly in the air. Tickled! He was being tickled! Echo couldn't believe it.
He’d seen the 99 tease each other, poke at each other to irritate, but they hadn’t done this yet. This was entertaining for sure. All that bubbly playfulness started to grow in Echo’s chest. A familiar tingly feeling that he always got when a fight like this broke out among his old squads.
He hadn’t even realized he missed it until now.
“We often do and yes, he is. That seems obvious.” Tech interjected, much to Crosshair’s chagrin. He choked out a disgruntled ‘Tech!’ but couldn’t get much else out otherwise, falling back into nervous titters as Wrecker continued to dig into his side. Tech’s datapad was sat down out of the way now and he sidled up to the two of them as if studying a particularly wiggly specimen. Tech reached a hand out that Crosshair immediately tried to slap but Tech, good ol’ Tech, was faster. He gripped Crosshair’s wrist then dove his own fingers directly under Crosshair’s arm, fingers moving in a way that made Crosshair screech. Echo felt himself pull his own elbows to his sides, subconsciously hiding in Hunter’s shadow. Someone remind him never to get on Tech’s bad side.
“This is torture!” Crosshair complained before falling into breathy laughter once again. It almost looked like he was getting electrocuted, or a fish out of water, flopping about in the hold as if it would change anything. Wrecker’s hold was firm, unbreakable, and he was stuck whether he wanted to be or not.
“We were taught how to withstand torture you will be fine.” Tech added and Echo laughed in shock at Tech’s casual humor. Whether he meant to or not he always seemed to pinpoint the exact right thing to say.
“Imagine that. Big, tough, sulky Crossie being so sensitive.” Echo couldn’t help it. Teasing was natural, grinning when a glare - as heated as he could manage while laughing like a maniac - was aimed in his direction.
“Don’t call me that!” Crosshair bit out. His body flung to the side when Tech changed tactics. His hands found a spot right above Crosshair’s knee, squeezing quick little bursts into the area without breaking his careful concentration.
“What? You don’t like Crossie?” Hunter was teasing now, too, getting up from the bench to join the little group that seemed intent on making Crosshair a mushy little pile of goo. Without preamble Hunter started poking over his stomach which made his knees yank upwards to try and cover it. Crosshair’s head shook back and forth, a bubbling laughter accompanying each and every poke.
He nearly knocked Wrecker in the nose with his head when Hunter ran gentle fingers over the center of his stomach, dancing over the fabric of his shirt playfully.
Oh Echo could practically feel those tingles. Dancing across skin that was so vulnerable like that, held in the air without a way down. Echo could remember getting ganged up on like that. The dominos often played like this, finding a target and all attacking at once. Hell, even Rex and Cody had a tendency to take him down a notch if he was getting under their skin. Some very giggly wrestling matches were all it took to remind him of who really had the upper hand when sparring with his COs.
A particularly loud cackle got Echo’s mind to focus again, tuning back in to watch as Hunter kneaded at the spot on Crosshair’s lower belly. That must tickle like hell with the way he started thrashing.
“I can’t stop smiling.” Echo commented only to cover his mouth with his hand a second later to hide it. It was too easy to throw out remarks that made Crosshair’s ears burn more, embarrassment flaring under his skin. This was something Echo could get on board with.
“Just wait until we get to his neck.” Hunter’s casual threat hit right where he wanted it to as Crosshair’s eyes went nice and wide.
“Don’t you dare-” The scream that cut him off nearly knocked Echo off of the bench.
“Too late.” Wrecker’s fingers were there in an instant, wiggling gently into the soft skin under Crosshair’s ear. Now the man was red faced, giggling mad, squirming at every single touch no matter how gentle. Wrecker’s big grin matched the look on Echo’s face for sure, his eyes meeting Echo’s. “Don’t worry. He’s just being weird about laughing because you’re new.”
Discomfort flashed through Echo’s body in an instant. If that were true, that Crosshair only acted aloof because he didn’t know Echo well, then maybe this wasn’t as fun as he thought it was. It wasn’t fun if they were causing some kind of distress, although he hadn’t picked up on any just yet, that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Echo rubbed the back of his neck.
“He doesn’t have to endure this in front of me if he’s uncomfortable.” Echo’s voice came out quiet but he was clearly heard, Tech peering over his shoulder but stopping his fingers entirely. Hunter was next, sensing the change in tone and pausing. Even Wrecker stopped teasing at the skin on his neck. While it did seem reluctant they let Crosshair go, allowing him to get his feet back on the ground. He didn’t last long, knees giving out so he could drop onto the ground by their feet, breathing harsh puffs of air into his lungs.
Echo watched with worry, unsure if this was typical or not, as Hunter crouched down. Did they go overboard? He just wasn’t sure yet. Briefly, he thought about how it would feel if someone pushed him too far. Not listening when he clearly wanted it to end. That wasn’t what he wanted at all.
Hunter flattened his hand over Crosshair’s now messy hair, taming some of the strands that stuck up every which way. “What d’ya think, Cross? Newbie gave you an out.” Hunter asked, patiently waiting while Crosshair got his breathing under control. Would Crosshair just answer?
It took a few moments, his face turning back to a semi normal color the more time he spent free of their tickling fingers. Crosshair swallowed, cleared his throat, then finally looked up. An almost calm look was on his face now, the lines that showed his glare softening into something that made him appear younger than he was.
“If you think I’m admitting defeat you don’t know me at all.” Crosshair croaked out, much to Echo’s immediate amusement, biting the inside of his lips to keep a grin from immediately splitting his face. Damn, he could take a beating. Echo wasn’t sure he’d last that long if it were him.
“You asked for it.” Wrecker laughed, kneeling down just as Hunter’s hands found Crosshair’s rib cage, wiggling the tips of his fingers between them. All that fight was renewed now, squirming and laughing with all his might now that he could really move. It was funny to see them go back to attacking him now that he’d given a green light, not holding back.
Echo slipped from the bench to sit in front of them, perfect view of the gleeful expression on Crosshair’s face. All those hands attacked him without mercy, scribbling into crevices, poking into soft spots, squeezing along his thigh so his legs kicked out against the floor. Echo was mapping a perfect plan of attack for the next time they got this chance, committing it to memory so he could threaten and start a fight later on.
“You should try.” Tech said, eyes watching the way Echo’s fingers twitched. He had to admit that he was tempted to join but would it cross a line? They hadn’t been exactly chummy lately and Echo couldn’t afford to piss the grumpiest 99 off. “He will not be angry, if that’s why you are holding back.” Dammit, Tech, stop reading his damn thoughts! Echo sighed through his nose. Well, if Tech thought it was okay.
Scooting closer he tried to find an in, somewhere he already knew worked, somewhere not that intense. Crosshair was already wheezing, much more and he may just pass out. That wouldn’t be very fun. Hunter, actually, made the decision for him.
“Right here. We’ll let you do the honors.” He pointed to the crook of Crosshair’s neck, fingers barely touching skin but making him shiver regardless. Echo reached out, trying to mimic the way they had done it earlier. Crosshair flinched away from the finger tracing his skin, and Echo smiled to himself, pleased to be able to join in and get an immediate reaction.
“Real gentle.” Wrecker suggested, tugging on his own ear like it was a hint, a wink thrown in Echo’s direction. Echo hummed, fingers tracing upwards to the shell of Crosshair’s ear, hoping it was as much of a hint as he thought it was. It got an instantaneous squeak, scrunching up as he dissolved into gentle tittering. The rest of them slowly started to pull away, hands leaving with a last squeeze, one last scribble, one last poke, until it was just Echo. His gentle traces were well received - Echo noticed - still giggling but much softer now, arms wrapped around himself. He rolled around on the ground, scrunching every so often, but he always uncurled himself to allow more of those traces. Scratching his nails got a particularly loud laugh, curling so his back was to Echo. A stroke of genius made Echo scribble his fingers over the back of his neck, laughing when Crosshair immediately turned back over, head shaking to rid himself of the sensation.
He could imagine this would be a good way to coax laughter out of Crosshair in the future. Have him lay his head in Echo’s lap and trace gently over his neck and ears, hear him laugh in a way they rarely ever got to, leave him to recover then surprise him with a sneak attack when he was settling down again. Part of him knew Crosshair wouldn’t tug away but he left that to tease about on a later date.
While letting Crosshair go was necessary, it was with regret. Echo pulled away, finally removing all those sensations from the man now panting to get his lungs working properly again. Hunter sat cross-legged next to him, rubbing firm circles on his back as a soothing tactic. Echo made note of that too. Fine with being touched after if the touch didn’t tickle. Good to know.
“You’re all bastards and I will get revenge.” Crosshair croaked, eyes closed.
“I’m sure you will.” Hunter agreed, even if he rolled his eyes. It took a few minutes for Crosshair to recover, surrounded in his little cocoon of mean, cruel brothers who had clearly tickled him to death.
Tragic, mean, so horrible.
Damn, he’d missed this. These playful fights were a simple joy he hadn’t quite realized were something he had been craving. The simple connection, careful affection, gentle ways of irritating each other. It brought something brighter to Echo’s chest.
Eventually Crosshair peeked out at them, studying Echo’s face.
“What’re you staring at?” Crosshair complained, although he didn’t move from the hand petting him. He didn’t even sound cross for the most part, just curious. All that laughing had left him sounding less broody, even if it was still under all of that calm.
Echo shrugged, still fighting that smile that wouldn’t remove itself from his face. “Just plotting for the next time you piss me off.”
Light flickered in Crosshair’s eyes, something dangerously playful. “Oh, I’ll be plotting, too.” Now Crosshair was smiling for completely different reasons, evil flashing through his gaze. “You ticklish, Echo?” Just as Crosshair had earlier, Echo’s body tensed, flashing hot in a way that he knew would bring a blush to his cheeks. How were you even meant to answer that question? No answer was good. Yes only invited people to try it but No just meant they’d attempt to anyway. Regardless it was a question you were meant to be stuck between, no way to navigate it casually. Instead of answering Echo pressed his lips together, a move that still had Crosshair grinning menacingly at him.
When Crosshair pushed up off of the floor to sit up, Hunter’s hand falling away, Echo couldn’t help but flinch backwards, away from the possibility that he could be next. He heard Wrecker chuckle, an interested hum from Tech, and couldn’t shake Hunter’s knowing grin.
“I’ll get you next time.” There was a threat so clearly on Crosshair’s tongue but Echo ignored it, huffing instead as he wrapped his arms around his middle. Crosshair made note, clicking his tongue, but left him be.
He may have to be on the lookout for sneaky and underhanded payback but Echo couldn’t find it in himself to care. No, he had to plot his own rascally attacks. Maybe this was how they finally broke through that leftover wall. Playfully tearing down any space between them brick by ticklish brick.
Revenge
Fandom: The Bad Batch
Word Count: 4,467
Summary: Rex gets a taste of his own medicine.
Ao3 link: Revenge
Part 3 of Monsters
This is a tickle fic
Echo was still catching his breath when Rex laughed, plopping his chin in his hand. “You boys are brutal. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him laugh that much.” Fondness spread through his voice, warming his chest, as he watched the little scene before him. Echo was still tucked away in Crosshair’s arms, getting his back patted by Wrecker as his breath started to calm. Now, because of his kind comment, Echo was glaring at him. Whatever he mumbled was lost as the rest of them laughed, making Rex narrow his eyes.
“Don’t get sassy with me. Already forgetting about the last thirty minutes? I’ve gotten a break so my energy is plenty renewed.” Rex threatened with a raised eyebrow. It worked wonders as Echo burrowed further into Crosshair’s chest. To his credit his brother was quick to glare in Rex’s direction, undercut by the grin still plastered on his face.
“Don’t worry we’ll protect you.” Wrecker’s assurances made surprise light up Rex’s frame.
“Is that so?”
Tech seemed to almost slide in front of them, keeping them even further out of sight. “He is our squadmate now. We have a duty to protect him from, as Echo has put it, evil brothers.”
Evil brothers! Sure, he’d spent plenty of time taking Echo down and inciting an attack against him but that was all in good fun. Surely he wasn’t expected to keep his hands to himself when his brother was grouchy. That comment alone was cause for another tussle. Rex narrowed his eyes, leaning forward and grinning when they each huddled closer together and further out of his reach.
“I’m not sure you boys could keep me away if I really wanted to get him.” Rex’s threat hit right where he wanted it to. Echo let out a curse, getting restless and squirmy again at the thought that this wasn’t quite over. Rex had almost forgotten how fun this was. It was always one of his favorite games growing up, on either side, and getting to hear his brothers actually laugh was high on his list of favorite activities. He had always expected Echo to be this way with him, give into the playfulness, wrestle with him, get into the play fights they were used to, but what he didn’t expect was the way the rest of clone force 99 seemed to join in too.
“I’d like to see you try.” Hunter was the next to come to his defense, already looking prepared to pounce if Rex tried anything, his eyes sparkling with that mischievousness they were so good at. Rex’s eyebrows shot up but his fingers still itched to get into a fight. They were testing him. Seeing if he was being serious about his warnings or if it was all one big bluff used to spook them into behaving. He was going to keep needling them, maybe even jump at them to watch the group scatter but Echo beat him to it with something he wasn’t quite expecting.
“Oh, I have a better idea.” Echo popped his head up from behind the wall protecting him, smile so big and toothy Rex froze in place.
“Echo.” It came out more apprehensive than intimidating but he couldn’t help it. Rex knew that look. It’s the one he often saw shared with Fives before the two of them pounced. Or that time he whispered a plan against him to Cody and they both ganged up on him. It’s the look he gave before he did something ill advised and conniving. Echo untangled himself from the pile, standing slowly so he didn’t give Rex any reason to run. Which, he probably would need to if this was going where he thought it was.
“I think you’ve been the instigator for too damn long, Rex.” Damn. Rex kept his eyes on his brother while making sure the batch stayed in line. They were starting to pick up what he was putting down, rising onto their knees to get into better positions to strike when he wasn’t expecting it.
“If you start this fight I will end it.” Rex kept his voice calm but that self satisfied grin had fallen into a nervous smile that he wasn’t going to be able to hide.
“You started it!” Echo nearly squawked in indignance. It wasn’t often that Echo had the gall to fight back so directly but when he did it was always like this. He often rallied others against Rex for the fun of it or started more of a ‘play fight’ to attempt a victory when he was distracted. It was always fun even when he lost. Echo’s grin seemed to grow tenfold, like he could hear Rex’s own thoughts. “Get him.”
The ship erupted like a bomb went off. Rex dove for his only out as the entirety of clone force 99 descended on him like evil little monsters trying to eat him for dinner. Unfortunately he didn’t make it far, having to grapple with Hunter almost immediately who had him half toppled over. He was quicker, though, and made a grab for Hunter’s neck. It was the one weakness he heard when they were descending onto Echo and valuable information was not to be wasted.
His listening skills paid off as Hunter jolted away from the fingers teasing his neck, hands grabbing to remove the offending sensation with a laugh so surprised it completely derailed Rex’s attempt at escape. The sound that left Hunter was so different from his typical gruffness that Rex couldn’t bother to move away quickly enough and instead followed him down to the floor, using his other hand to trace Hunter’s neck the same way he’d done to Echo.
That left him open to attack from behind. Wrecker scooped him up, arms tightening around his middle to yank him off of the ground leaving him dangling in the air. Rex wriggled fruitlessly but couldn’t quite get his own hands under Wrecker’s and that was how he knew he was done for. Wrecker’s curious fingers prodded at his sides first, sending a jolt up his spine at the first contact. His body bent to get away but he was held firm, huffing in weak protest. It didn’t exactly tickle quite yet. It was way too hesitant to get him to laugh but the action had opened up the flood gate wide enough to make his smile split his face. He stretched as far as he could manage to get a hold on Wrecker’s side, digging in mercilessly enough to get himself dropped in surprise as the bigger man let out a yelp.
Echo was remaining helpfully out of the mix while he tried to fend the rest of them off. Probably planning to swoop in and expose all of his weak spots once they had him tired out and pinned but for now Rex had bigger problems and they came in the form of a slippery sniper. That man had Rex on his back faster than he expected, hands already grabbing for his unguarded middle before he even hit the ground. That got him to bark out a laugh but it wasn’t enough to keep him down, the rest of them too unfamiliar with him to truly understand how to stop the fight. Rex used his legs as leverage to flip their positions, elbows shoving away the hands at his sides to then jab his own at Crosshair’s ribs. The jolt was well earned as he tested out what firmness would work best. Turned out that a mix of wiggling and tracing was perfect, finally getting the man below him to crack an uncharacteristically wide smile as he tried to flop back and forth. He could stay like this for a while, taking down the grouchiest of them all would be a feat in itself but it would give him something to brag about each time he saw them, and he did plan on seeing them often. Not just for Echo, although that was a big part of it, but for this batch of new brothers he’d found too.
It was actually Tech that got him while he was distracted, sneaky bastard. He was happily prodding away at the crumbled up ball that was Crosshair until the back of his neck was grabbed. The confidence behind the touch made him think it was Echo but when he flung himself backwards he was treated to Tech’s goggled face right before Crosshair tackled him backwards.
They moved fast, he’d give them that.
Rex wasn’t planning on giving up the fight just yet, although he was prepared to lose, so as several hands started to descend on him he reached out to poke at any soft spot he could manage. Someone grabbed his legs then, plopping their heavy weight over him to immobilize him, just as Echo’s face appeared overhead, still grinning proudly.
“You have to pin his arms. If he’s got hands free he’s going to tickle you.” The gleeful way Echo said it paired with the immediate holding of his arms was enough to make the nerves finally burst from his fight or flight and send giddy panic up his spine. He should’ve known better than to mess with Echo with so many new allies present. Jokes on him, he thought they were on his side. Turns out their loyalty only extends so far.
He could still squirm, although with Wrecker holding one arm, Tech at the other, and Hunter firmly sitting on his calves he wasn’t too sure it was a mercy. They gave him just enough room to wiggle with no way to get free. He wasn’t surprised when the only two left plopped by either side of his middle, both looking devious in their own ways. He created monsters. Should’ve known they’d come back to bite him.
Echo - the bastard - poked deliberately into his side, delighting in the way Rex had to crane away from the feeling. It didn’t end, just traveled up and into his ribs which is when soft laughter started to pour out of him. The poking kept traveling up and up and up until it was mere inches away from the spot he knew Echo was after and finally he let himself bargain.
“Don’t you dare!” Rex barked, out of breath already. He was half bent away from Echo, staring up at him for some sort of mercy he knew wouldn’t come. Echo had a wide smile on his face but his eyes gave him away, fond and soft despite the way he mobilized his own squad against Rex.
“Why should I?” Echo asked almost sincerely. He used his fingers to trail delicately over Rex’s ribs, fluttery sensation building in his gut already. At least he wasn’t pulling out anything big yet, starting him off slow.
“I will get you back twice as bad. You know I’m not kidding.” He was in no position to make demands but the light tracing on his ribcage was making his brain all fuzzy. Echo’s fingers traveled up again and Rex damn near squeaked but was saved - sort of?! - by Echo passing on his unguarded underarm to trace maddeningly on his bicep. It made the start of breathy giggles tumble out of his mouth, head shaking back and forth to do something.
“Already threatening me.” Echo tsked but no disappointment showed on his face. His expression matched the batch’s, all grins and excitement. He’d really worked them all up into some sort of playful little attack force and he was about to pay for it. “You better be prepared to lay back and laugh, Rex.” Stubbornness lit up his frame and he clamped his mouth shut, squeezing his eyes closed so he didn’t have to look at any of their dumb faces. “Not gonna laugh, huh?” Rex shook his head but gave up a smile when Echo chuckled in amusement. “I think you’re forgetting that I know you just as well as you know me.”
He should’ve been expecting it. But Rex was just a man and he couldn’t help the way his body flinched when the tracing on his bicep shifted right to his exposed underarm, wiggling there in a way so practiced it was both nostalgic and unfair. In a moment of weakness he sucked in a breath to attempt to hold it, staving off any noises to not give them the satisfaction, but they must have planned a counterattack because Wrecker chose that exact moment to do the same on his other side.
While he usually prided himself on holding out longer a bark of laughter was completely forced out of him and with that all of his self control went with it. All of the prodding was so focused. Had Echo briefed them somehow on how to do this? Or were they learning so fast just by watching him?
Oh, Rex was done for.
“There we go. See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Echo always teased like he had the upper hand regardless of if he had it or not, and he was well used to that, but Rex hadn’t been on the other side of it in so long that it flustered him anyway. Even when he was younger, less guarded, it was still the same. It was good to know some things never changed.
Echo moved but Tech immediately took his place and Rex threw so many swears out at them he could make a sailor blush. His old ARC just sat back and let them at him. The constant itchy feeling was starting to go to his head. Getting ganged up on always made him more nervous. The batch, however, were in a league all their own.
“I am surprised he was so easy to break.” Tech commented as he drilled into Rex’s underarm with precision. His laugh kicked up a notch, yanking away but directly into Wrecker’s hand - literally - before both of them pulled away.
“Hey!” Rex complained as if he had any right to, body falling limp against the floor. He was grateful for the break, although he wasn’t sure why he was being awarded one.
“He puts up a good fight but he’s just as bad as me. Isn’t that right?” Echo teased, readjusting so he was sitting closer to his hip. With the little wiggle room he was provided he flipped Echo off, doing nothing but making the evil look in his eyes even worse.
Hunter tsked, his hand landing just above Rex’s knee. “Not nice, captain. Maybe you aren’t getting taught a good enough lesson.” He nearly jumped out of his skin when his ribs were squeezed, yelping before he dissolved into laughter again. He was too busy expecting Hunter to attack him next to notice Crosshair aiming for his ribcage. The look on Crosshair’s face said ‘revenge’ and he knew it was deserved. The spaces between were given attention, that pinpoint accuracy meant for sniping still just as useful in times like this.
“His laugh is so nice.” Wrecker commented almost wistfully. Rex had to hide his face in his shoulder as well as he could manage. Damn them for making his face burn. It was unfair, truly, to be reduced to a puddle on the floor and have them talk about him like he wasn’t there.
“I’ve always really liked Rex’s laugh.” Echo agreed but it was nearly drowned out as Crosshair gripped his ribs and wiggled his fingers into the back of them like the absolute asshole he was. It forced a loud belly laugh out of him, body wriggling with no way to escape. “It sounds a lot like home.” His sentence was punctuated with a light tap to Crosshair’s wrist with his scomp, getting him to pause and leave Rex laying lax on the floor again.
“Sappy.” Rex said, out of breath. He wasn’t sure what all the starting and stopping was about but it was driving him more up a wall than Echo’s usual routine. Typically Echo was a ‘strike first, tease, dip’ kind of opponent. Since he couldn’t fight back once he got tickled he tended to pull out the big guns before anyone could get him back. Rex had always been able to catch up to him, wrestle him to the ground, and force that light laughter out of him until he was satisfied. Now, however, Echo didn’t need to worry about that and was taking his sweet time.
Speaking of.
“Cody used to put him in a headlock and do this.” Echo reached out and didn’t even bother with a warning - although Rex knew what was coming - before kneading Rex’s lower belly as if it was a particularly wiggly bit of dough. His laugh came out of him in a whine, trying to suck his stomach in as much as he could to get away from the downright evil fingers playing with his soft spot. Echo was right, Cody did this a lot more than he’d like to admit. It was his favorite spot, somehow figuring out the perfect motion to get all of Rex’s nerves to set alight.
“Codehehe is a dihihick!” Rex yelped when Echo shoved his fingers up under the hem of his shirt to walk his fingers over the lower part of his stomach.
“I’m telling him you said that.” Echo spoke up over the loud cackling he’d reduced Rex to. He just kept pinching and then scribbling but he never once stopped moving. That’s what made Rex so squirmy. The constant dance of fingers over his skin was hitting him right in the gut - literally - and forcing him to yank this way and that to try and rid himself of it.
As with the other spots Echo stopped pretty quick, keeping him in a constant battle between relaxing and bracing himself. Rex sucked in breaths like they’d be his last, his own heart beating in his ears like a roar. He didn’t get long to relax, feeling the hand that had been inconspicuously resting on his thigh squeeze so his leg jolted, that sensation shooting straight up to his frying brain.
“Hey, captain.” Hunter tapped his fingers against the side of Rex’s knee, those fingers getting restless in the worst way.
Rex tipped his chin down to get Hunter in view, groaning at the look on his face - open and mischievous and nothing that Rex wanted to be seeing. “Yes, asshole?” Hunter laughed but he wasn’t deterred, head tipping to the side.
“Are your feet ticklish?” The question sent ice through his veins, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
“No!” He answered too fast, much too frantic for any of them to believe him and they certainly didn’t, those horribly playful looks turning devious.
“Echo?” Hunter asked, leg now jiggling impatiently as he waited for the green light. This was going to be the one time in his life he truly and honestly begged. He turned big eyes towards Echo, hoping for some sort of mercy, but he recognized that delighted look in his eyes as he crawled lower and oh fuck, oh shit!
“NO! No no nononono!” Rex yelled, trying again to get his limbs free from his captures who had the sense to let his arms go, allowing him to fling his upper body upwards, nearly head butting Hunter as he grabbed the other man’s arm just for something to hold. “Echo please. I’ll do anything you want. There’s not an ask in this world I would say no to!” Echo was barely listening, eyebrows raised. He settled by Rex’s feet.
“I do have a request, actually.” Echo rested his hand on Rex’s ankle, tapping in the same way Hunter had been. Speaking of the sergeant, he laced his fingers with Rex’s and squeezed, a bad omen if he ever saw one. Echo moved slowly as he pulled Rex’s boots off, careful not to let his heels hit the ground too hard, but he was definitely playing up the sweetness for wicked reasons. Rex just held onto Hunter’s hand and pressed his lips together to suppress the whine he wanted to let out. With a playful tilt of Echo’s head he smiled, sweet and disarming. “Laugh.”
Fingers were scribbling over his sole before he had the breath to protest. Laughter so loud and bright tumbled out of him as his body lurched forward, nearly knocking Hunter off of him. He was going to yank Hunter backwards if he didn’t burst his eardrum first. It got worse when another hand was added to the mix, clearly Hunter’s, attacking both of his feet at the same damn time. Itchy tingles made him want to kick his feet but he couldn’t, not pinned like this!
Frantic giggles pounded against the walls trying to get out, curled around his gut, fluttered around the inside of his body like butterflies trying to tickle him from the inside. His feet were barely ever exposed long enough to be targeted but when they were Rex felt like his head was going to implode. Nothing more than a passing flutter against the bottom of his foot was the norm and even then he knew they were sensitive.
Echo, the kid he practically raised was an evil horrible brother and Rex was going to kill him when he got loose. Someone sat at his back but he didn’t realize it was Wrecker until Tech and Crosshair practically floated towards his feet to take over, leaving him to lean against Wrecker for support, his hands flying to cover his face.
All of those years of teasing Cody, goading him into a play fight, or sneak attacking his brothers, hands under blankets so they squirmed as they giggled, were coming back to bite him. He earned every playful little scritch through years of doing the same to his brothers and he knew it, too. Rex yelped through his own giggles as Wrecker’s fingers brushed against his neck, a hand against his knee scribbled behind it and he barely recognized Hunter’s wry smile before it disappeared again as he squeezed his eyes closed. All he could feel were their fingers finding every ticklish spot on his body, aided by Echo’s helpful commentary as he pointed out how to do it better.
Someone had just started to target that spot on his lower belly again, fingers kneading into the muscles making them twitch with sensation, as Rex was reaching his end. Someone was going to have to peel him off of the floor of the ship after this was over. If they ever let him go. He’d always prided himself on not being easy to take down but Force they were giving him a run for his money. Aided by Echo’s expertise and allowed to poke and prod however much they wanted. He couldn’t, however, speak anymore so all he did was open his eyes, hand clamped around a wrist that was attached to none other than Echo himself, hoping the plead in his eyes would suffice.
Echo’s fingers stilled immediately, smiling as he sat back. “Okay, okay. Let him go.” As if simply deleted all the hands teasing him fled. So did Hunter’s weight over his calves. Even the support at his back moved, letting him flop backwards. He was totally in his right to curl up on the ground, arms wrapped around his middle to try and remove the fluttering sensation from every nerve under his skin. He even rubbed his feet together to try and rid himself of the tingles. Leftover giggles kept tumbling out of him, face pushed into the cool ground to sooth his overheated skin.
“Did we break him?” Crosshair asked, leaning over him. Rude.
“You okay, cap?” Wrecker asked, concern lighting up his voice. He’d respond, tell him it was fine, that they hadn’t hurt him, but he couldn’t get his tongue to work properly anymore. There was a gentle hand on his shoulder, someone at his back, and he knew instantly it was Echo. There was a whisper in his ear but he didn’t catch the words, just gathered some worry and a familiar squeeze to his arm. Rex swallowed, nodding, a smile still splitting his face nearly in half.
It quelled the worry in Echo who sat back up, hand moving to sweep comfortingly over his back.
“He’s okay, just a little touched out. He likes his back touched, though.” Echo informed the rest of them. The tickly sensations were still crawling over his skin but he was starting to tune in more as his body calmed. His heart was no longer roaring in his ears at least.
“We did kind of attack him.” Hunter commented with slightly less concern than Wrecker had shown. He’d scooted closer to try and copy Echo’s movements, focusing on rubbing the upper part of his back firmly. Rex could imagine him doing that after reducing one of the batch to nothing but a puddle of giggles, keeping them company as they recovered.
“Oh, he doesn’t mind being tickled that much. He just puts up a front.” Echo was just selling all of his secrets to them, huh? With a grumble he rolled over onto his back and threw his arms around Echo’s shoulders. It was gratifying enough to hear Echo yelp as he yanked him over and onto the floor but Rex had ulterior motives. There was a light struggle while Echo tried to fend off a possible attack but he settled quickly as Rex laid his heavy weight onto Echo’s chest, sighing in contentment. Once Echo realized the hold was more of a cuddle and less shenanigans he let himself be used as a pillow, chuckling as he scratched at Rex’s scalp in comfort. “Likes to be snuggled, too, if you didn’t notice.”
Rex was going to bite him.
He refrained from violence but was pleasantly surprised when the rest of the batch settled in a little pile around them. They pressed tight in on them, their warmth appreciated after all of the activity. Rex sighed as someone - Wrecker - pressed against his back. Tech was lounging somewhere against Wrecker and Crosshair had taken it upon himself to squish between Echo and Hunter like a particularly lanky tooka. It was always going to be a bit odd, seeing Echo outside of 501st blue, but Rex knew he’d found his own place within Clone Force 99 and maybe they’d all found a few new brothers to add to their family too. He’d put up with them ganging up on him as long as they kept showing up for Echo the way he’d seen them do already.
The monsters he created were now satiated, snuggling up to him as affectionately as one could with claws, until the next time they got hungry.
Take A Breath
Fandom: The Bad Batch
Word Count: 3,789
Summary: Echo won't stop yapping and Crosshair is worn out. Perhaps he needs to help Echo get all of this energy out before either of them can sleep.
Ao3 link: Take A Breath
This is a tickle fic
Crosshair had a problem. And that problem was about six feet of endless yapping sitting on the bunk next to him.
Echo hadn’t stopped to breathe since opening his mouth that morning. All of his thoughts tumbled out without an end in sight and while Crosshair was pleased that Echo had chosen him to talk to, he was still half dead from their last mission and needed a good nap sooner rather than later. Echo's voice was already starting to go out in places, throat scratchy from the dryness, coughing into his elbow every few sentences. Any more yapping and that man would hack so hard he might rupture something. Echo shoved his face in his elbow again, coughing aggressively, then went right back to it.
Yeah, he needed to stop him. If not for Echo's sake then his own.
Crosshair leaned forward on the bunk to try and catch Echo’s eye but he just kept chatting. Distant and quick and constant. So much pent up energy. So few places to put it. Being stuck on the ship had been hard for all of them but Echo had started to get antsier than usual. Feeling closed in, maybe? Crosshair let his eyes land on Hunter who was listening from one of the other bunks - amused. He’d been watching since Echo approached and plopped down, curious about how this was going to go. Whether Crosshair would allow the personal space intrusion or start an argument to push Echo further away. It seemed to pleasantly surprise Hunter that he’d put up with it for this long, even pausing his own reading to listen peacefully to Echo’s soft and constant murmur. With a sigh he let his chin rest in his palm.
”Alright, that’s enough.” Crosshair said, but Echo steamrolled right past him, continuing to tell a very animated story that he just couldn’t let go of. Crosshair rolled his eyes but tried again, punctuating it with a light poke to Echo’s side. “Take a breath.” The reaction was a little dramatic. Echo’s body flinched, bending away from Crosshair, and his hand shot to cover the spot he’d just touched. Suspicion made his eyes narrow, studying. At least the chatting had stopped but now he was worried for other reasons. “Injury?” He asked. He knew he should’ve insisted on a med check after their recent mission. Their reg had refused one and - of course - was hiding an injury from them. Typical. They were going to have to start enforced injury checks after missions if this kept up.
Idiot.
Instead of growing defensive Echo huffed, mouth lifting a little as he rubbed his side. He shook his head. “Not injured, just ticklish.” After he said it he grew almost bashful. Like he wasn’t exactly sure he wanted to admit it out loud. The admission, however, sparked Crosshair’s interest.
Ticklish? He’d only briefly considered the prospect of Echo being ticklish - expected something at the very least - but, regardless, something playful tugged at his chest that made his fingers itch. Echo. Reg ARC Trooper Hero of Anaxes. Ticklish. Really? Their Echo? The rest of them were sensitive, some more than others, but he hadn’t gotten quite close enough yet to see if Echo had the same reactions they did. Hell, he wasn’t even sure Echo would let him do it. There was a very strong possibility he'd get a scomp to the face but anything worth doing was bound to be a gamble, right? They’d have to figure this out sooner or later - although Echo might disagree - and what better time than the present? It was almost evil how quickly his concern turned into a grin and Echo must’ve thought so too with the way he shrunk back in response.
“Oh, you shouldn’t have told me that.” Crosshair teased, reaching it to grab Echo around the waist before he could make a run for it. Good thing he did because Echo was trying to bolt but was yanked back just in time. There was a short tussle, a scramble while both of them attempted to gain power in the situation. Echo was at a disadvantage, though, stuck trying to pull away as Crosshair used his body as a counterweight, dragging them both backwards more firmly onto the bunk.
"Crosshair!” Echo complained as he was restrained, hand and scomp trying to worm under his locked arms. Crosshair wasn’t really doing anything yet, nothing that required any level of squirming. He needed to get Echo into a good position to hold him still, first, knowing how slippery he could be even this early on. So he pulled Echo as tight as he could manage to his chest, wrangling his already wiggling captive. There was a nervous smile on his face already, body twitching in anticipation of what had been set as a threat against him. Already? Really? Maybe it was the ridiculousness of what Crosshair was proposing that already had him nervous, smiling at the mere possibility of what was about to happen. That was something he could work with.
“Is it just that spot? Or are there more I can find?” Crosshair asked. He felt around for that same place he’d poked and that’s when Echo started to get noisy. He wasn’t exactly laughing yet but there was a lilt to his voice that let him know it wouldn’t be too hard to get a reaction. It echoed around the cabin, drawing attention and eyes from the other members of their squad that hadn’t had any stake in this game yet. Now that they had an audience Crosshair was prepared to put on a show for them as long as Echo cooperated.
“I’m not telling you!” Echo swore, voice a little higher pitched than usual. He started squirming when Crosshair put some pressure on that spot - the one right at the base of his ribcage - and wiggled gently to try to recreate the same reaction he’d gotten earlier. The quiet laugh Echo let out was properly endearing - although he’d never admit that out loud - and all that squirming seemed to settle while nervous energy was transferred to Echo trying to clamp his elbows down instead.
“So the answer is definitely.” Crosshair hummed, having to dip his head out of the way so he didn’t get head butted when he wiggled his fingers a little harder. It really wasn’t smart to let such an easy access weakness slip out this early on. Echo grew up with a batch, he should’ve known how dangerous that was. Stupid mistake, really. Should’ve kept all that information to himself if he didn’t want this to happen.
“Shuhuhut uhup-“ Echo complained but it was undercut so badly by the laughter that Crosshair had to smile. Echo’s feet were scrambling for some kind of purchase but the bunk was too short to accommodate that, leaving him partially hanging off and at the mercy of whatever Crosshair wanted to do. He didn’t want to push too far, they’d only just started to get on each other’s good side, but he did want to test a few more things while he was at it.
In fact, Crosshair had a theory that stemmed from Echo’s first physical with them. They’d done it on the ship and Tech had handled it but he’d tensed when Tech touched certain places and Tech hadn’t paid much mind to it. Echo hadn’t seemed overly uncomfortable - he knew what it looked like when touching somewhere Echo hated - but he had gotten a bit more tense which, having the information he did now, led Crosshair to a conclusion he found most logical.
There was no warning - where was the fun in that - before he shifted to get one of his hands on Echo’s belly. Enough to be a threat without voicing it. And just like he expected Echo’s body tensed, a quiet gasp giving him away without even thinking about it. Just like the damn physical. Who knew that Echo was giving away what was possibly the most entertaining secret information he could that easily? Crosshair was delighted.
“Oh, Echo.” Crosshair let his voice dip into a tease, the kind of tone that everyone accused him of being ‘mean’ over. With his other fingers paused, Echo got a reprieve, now leaning back into his chest and nervously anticipating what would come next. He seemed to fidget in the spot, hand now gripping his wrist in a weak attempt at stopping the attack. “You are really far too obvious.”
“D-don’t know what you’re talking about.” There was still a helpless smile on his face that Crosshair matched with a grin of his own.
“Lying isn’t very nice. And you aren’t good at it.” Crosshair leaned to make his voice a whisper, hoping it would have a similar effect and make him more giggly, which it did. Echo had to lean away from the breath hitting his neck, hand still gripping Crosshair’s wrist like it would do anything to stop him. “Gotta make sure you pay for that.” He curled his fingers before scribbling lightly, still not too sure about how it would be received, but it got him a satisfying reaction regardless.
Turned out Echo was ticklish there, maybe even his worst spot by the way he sucked in his stomach before letting out an honest laugh. It was bright and unreserved, something quite bubbling compared to the typically stoic man he had gotten to know. The squirming returned but Crosshair was ready. He tightened his grip with one arm and got his fingers under the hem of Echo’s shirt to trace little patterns on the skin. It made the man jolt, the joyful sound coming out of him getting louder with the contact. From the vantage point he’d gained he was free to scribble his fingernails over the spot as much as he pleased, even pausing to draw little figure eights over anywhere that got a thrash or - even better - a squeak.
Echo still wasn’t begging, wasn’t asking for it to end, or complaining about being touched. Hell, he wasn’t even fighting back that hard. So Crosshair searched around with nimble fingers, chasing jumping muscles, and trying to find that spot. The one that would get Echo to practically melt while he laughed, too worn out and tickled to really do anything about it. It wasn’t that hard to find. Echo hadn’t really let go yet. He was still easily taking the playful touch with the courage of someone who endured plenty of this in the past. Echo's batch passed through Crosshair's mind. He wondered what they were like, who they could've been, how much Echo must miss them. Crosshair would miss his own batch if they were gone, even the things they did to annoy him. A sting of sadness washed over him but he shoved that away quickly in favor of focusing on the cheerful sound he was forcing out of Echo. When Crosshair’s fingers skated too close to his lower stomach right in the dip nearing his hips there was a bark of laughter so frantic it almost made Crosshair lose his grip.
“Ah! Not there! Nohohot thehehere-" Echo’s words were cut off with something close to what Crosshair would call ‘cackling’ as he zeroed in on that spot and went to town. That's a good spot! Not exactly his hip but too close to it to really be his belly. A perfect in between that rarely saw much attention and was now the best place to focus all of his work. The scratching was periodically interrupted by a jolt as he drummed his fingers over it and got a panicked squeak out of Echo when he lightened his touch to just the pads of his fingers. He switched to the other side to get another shriek and laughed at the man who was now starting to lose some of the energy he had left.
”Who knew,” Crosshair began but had to stop to smile when Echo had to turn his face into Crosshair’s neck to hide. He’d given in, wasn’t getting away any time soon, so he was going to keep his face away from prying eyes. Prying eyes meaning the rest of their squad who weren’t even pretending not to be amused by the scene in front of them. “That an ARC trooper like yourself would be so damn sensitive. Shocking, really.”
“E-” Frantic near-giggles escaped when Crosshair drummed his fingers around Echo’s exposed stomach. At this rate his eardrums would burst from all of Echo’s noise directly aimed at his ear but deep down he didn’t really care. He hadn’t heard this laugh yet. The one that was so unreserved it reminded Crosshair of a cadet’s. Knowing he could get this laugh out of Echo whenever he wanted was reward enough for the ringing in his ears. “Eheveryohone is tickLISH!” Maybe it was mean, he’d only really thought about it after he’d done it, but it was too tempting to pass up. He’d just wanted to see if Echo’s hip bones were sensitive like Tech’s, and Force they definitely were.
Echo squirmed, that iron grip on his wrist only tightening, as Crosshair pinched his hip, skating over it to prod along the length of the bone then drilling his thumb into it. It was like he’d found a gold mine and he was definitely planning on exploiting it.
“Most people are. True. I am.” Crosshair admitted. Echo’s head popped up from its hiding place, excited at the new - free - information he’d been given, but he didn’t have long to delight in it. His fingers crawled up to Echo’s ribs to wiggle between the spaces mercilessly. The way he tried to bend in half almost knocked him free but Crosshair pulled him back. Echo shoved his face back in his preferred hiding spot, all of that anxious energy bouncing around his body so bad he had to kick his legs just to feel settled.
Crosshair had to laugh. It was infectious, that sound springing around the bunk room, and it made him feel bubbly on the inside. Who knew Echo’s laugh was so contagious? Maybe it was that he’d never really heard it before that did it. Or that he’d not gotten to play around with Echo yet. Although, from the way Wrecker had to keep a hand over his mouth to stop himself from outright laughing along was possible proof enough that Echo's laugh really was just that infectious. There were still quite a few places he wanted to try - under his arms, his neck, maybe see if spidering fingers on his back made him react the way Hunter did - but even with the gentleness of his touch Echo was losing stamina. Maybe one other spot and he knew just what he wanted to try.
All it took was the slightest brush over Echo’s bellybutton to get him to yelp but finally his body melted back into Crosshair and bright, frantic, light laughter flowed freely out of him. Well, he found the giggle spot. He could already see it becoming one of his favorite places to target if that’s how useless Echo became when touched there. He was going to have to remember that next time Echo was getting under his skin. It was going to be so easy to pick on him and that alone was priceless. Echo telling him what to do? A good poke would solve it. Echo taking someone else’s side in a squabble? Perhaps he just needed some convincing and he’d see the light. The possibilities were endless and the more playful side of himself was definitely going to take over from time to time. Only when Echo deserved it, of course.
“I- wahahahait.” Echo giggled before covering his face with his arms, face burning red over the embarrassment. Meanwhile Crosshair just kept brushing gently over the area, circling a few times before poking deliberately to wiggle inside of it. Echo wriggled uselessly but just continued to lay lax in Crosshair’s arms. A giggle spot. Crosshair had a few, mainly his ears and neck, but he’d been able to find one on every other member of their squad. A spot so sensitive you couldn’t even wiggle away properly. This one had turned Echo into a pile of pliant mush rapidly approaching his limit. Echo had given up protecting himself, even as his face grew pinker and his laugh descended into tittering giggles. (Echo! Giggling! He'd have to have Tech take a video of this some day. Perfect blackmail material.) So little self-preservation for someone who was an expert strategist. A note to be added to his growing knowledge on Echo: becomes useless when tickled. Got it. “Okay, Cross, plehehease!” Echo finally begged, giving up. If they’d been on the ground Echo might’ve stomped his feet on it - a test for another day. With a regretful sigh Crosshair took pity and stopped his relentless prodding. He did, however, keep his arms tight around Echo who very well might slide onto the floor if he was let go. Who knew? A little bit of gentle tickling and their ARC trooper was basically putty.
“Didn’t know you could blush so much.” Crosshair teased as he laid his head against Echo’s while he tried to regulate his breath. The man groaned but didn’t move, a good sign that he hadn’t pushed too far. “That’s all it takes, really? You get tickled and you’re down?” Echo continued to grumble but wouldn’t respond. He had his arms crossed grouchily over his chest now even as he relaxed back into the hold, now convinced he wouldn’t be attacked. “Did they use that against you in ARC training? A special course just for you? ‘How to fend off enemies who have especially mischievous intent when you have the sensitivities of a cadet’? Is your arch nemesis a feather?” That one got Echo to elbow him.
“Shut up.” He complained, though he didn’t sound hurt by it, just still embarrassed. Well, embarrassed or not Crosshair was going to milk this new tactic for all it was worth. He was already sick of Echo besting him in spars. At least now he had a secret he could use against him, fair or not.
“Oh, leave him alone, Cross.” Hunter scolded, smile still firmly planted on his face. “You’re no better and you know it. All he’d have to do is grab your neck and you'd crumble.”
“Yeah, so?” Crosshair threw back at him. He could feel Echo side eye him, interested in this mentioned weakness but not sure if he wanted to test it with Crosshair’s hands still in the danger zone. Bravery was unearned - he knew Echo would get him back the first chance he got - but a few hints at what would get him to laugh wouldn’t hurt. It was only fair. “It’s not as if any of us have any room to talk. You scream when you get poked in the ribs.” Hunter glared at him.
”At least I’m not as bad as Tech and his knees.” Hunter hitched a thumb in Tech’s direction who, while still listening to all the ruckus, had been minding his own. The comment made him shoot a glare in Hunter’s direction.
“It is not my fault. Most individuals have some sort of sensitivity as Echo pointed out.” Tech pushed his goggles up his nose then gave Echo a mischievous look. “If you ever want to get Wrecker you should try his feet when he is sleeping.” The look on Wrecker’s face was priceless.
Echo let out a laugh, his head rolling back against Crosshair’s shoulder, weight heavy but comforting. “I feel like I’d get kicked.”
“You might.” Tech conceded, now wary of Wrecker’s narrowed eyes. “But it would give you a chance to run, which you will need.” Good point. Wrecker never let it go without some revenge and once you were caught, well, he wasn't one to let you get off easy.
“Ah, I don’t mind, Echo.” Wrecker said, gesturing towards them with a flourish. “They pretend to hate when we play like that but they’re liars.” Echo chuckled at the accusation but didn’t comment, instead settling in like he was going to nap right then and there. Hell, he might. He’d snuggled closer, head tipped back against Crosshair’s shoulder and arms resting lightly on top of where Crosshair still held firm around his waist. Echo was now a heavy, warm weight that was nearly putting him to sleep. The cabin settled once it was clear no one else was going to get tackled, although Wrecker made a few threats that he didn’t follow through on. One to grab Crosshair’s feet since he was ‘pinned down’ by a heavy ARC trooper was enough to make him want to curl his legs up and away from open air. He didn’t let down his guard until Wrecker had safely tucked back into bed.
“I think I’ve decided you're evil. Just so you know.” Echo commented as the energy settled. Crosshair peaked down at him. His eyes were closed but there was a smile still on his face. Leftover from all the laughing. He seemed tired but peaceful, even as he accepted the unfamiliar attention. With a shrug Crosshair laid his head against Echo’s, content and hoping he could get a good nap out of all that warmth.
“Shouldn’t have been so quick to mention ticklishness if you didn’t want to be tickled in the first place.” He whispered back with a hint of teasing in his tone.
“Whatever.” Echo was quick to grumble back. A hint of pink dusted over his cheeks again but Crosshair decided he could tease about that some other time. “I’ll get you back.” Echo promised. Oh, he was sure Echo would. He’d strike when it wasn’t expected and he was sure it would be just as bad if not worse than when the others took him down. Echo seemed to have a revenge streak in him if the pranks he already pulled on Tech were anything to go off of. Yeah, he could anticipate a battle in his future.
Instead of letting on to the way he tensed he slapped Echo’s side. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Later. Just relax for a bit, would ya? You’re going to give me a headache from all your yapping.” It made Echo bristle but he did keep his mouth closed until a yawn escaped. Turns out he wasn’t the only one overtired - and Echo finally seemed worn out and content enough to sleep. With one last squeeze he settled back against the wall to take one of those cat naps he was so fond of, his new brother tucked securely in his arms.