Merry Christmas @ticklish-v-93 im your secret santa this year. In all honesty this is my first time writing for this ship I hope I did it justice
This is a tickle fic if you don't like that just scroll, also thers a tinyyyyy bit of restraints in here but nothing nsfw as always.
Laughter looks better on you
The rain hadnât let up since the mission ended.
It tapped softly against the windows of the safehouse, the kind of endless drizzle that blurred the outside world into muted grays. Atsushi sat on the far side of the room, perched on the edge of the mattress like a ghost of himselfâarms limp, shoulders slouched, hair still damp from the downpour.
He hadnât spoken since they returned.Â
The mission did not go as planned; they were to infiltrate an enemy base and secure the weapons that were stolen but they weren't expecting a child hostage to be a part of the equation. Atsushi did everything in his power to try and save them but in the end the child's life was taken by the enemy and he blamed himself.Â
Akutagawa noticed.
Not that he was about to say anything. At first.
He sat in the corner chair, arms crossed, his coat still buttoned, even though steam had started to rise faintly from his shoulders as the chill of rain gave way to warmth. His eyes hadnât left Atsushi in ten minutes.
There was something wrong. The weretiger usually wore his emotions like a badly-fitted coatâalways tripping over guilt, shame, self-loathing, and still managing to offer some sorry excuse of a smile through it all.
But not tonight.
Tonight he was quiet. Too quiet. There was no half smile, he was just, Still. And Akutagawa didn't like it.
Akutagawa closed his book. Loudly. No response.
ââŠYouâre acting strange,â he said flatly.
Atsushi blinked, slowly turning his head. His eyes looked a little glassy.
âIâm just tired,â he muttered. Even he didn't believe his own lie.
âTch. You said that already.â
âWell⊠maybe I still am.â
That wasnât it. Akutagawa knew it wasnât.
There was a scrape of chair legs across wood as he stood up, deliberate in every step as he crossed the room.
Atsushi didnât even react when Akutagawa crouched in front of him.
He just looked⊠small.
And Akutagawa hated it.
âYouâre sulking.â
âIâm not sulking.â
Akutagawa narrowed his eyes. âYouâre brooding. You have that pathetic furrow between your brows again.â
Atsushiâs lips twitched, but the ghost of a smile never fully formed. âMaybe I just messed up today. Again. Maybe itâs my fault those civilians got hurt. Maybeââ
poke.
Atsushi was startled. His whole body jumped.
Akutagawaâs finger lingered just at his side. He looked positively smug.
ââŠWhat was that?â Atsushi squeaked.
âYou flinched,â Akutagawa replied simply. âAnd you made one of those squeaky noises again.â
âThatâs notâAkutagawa, donâtââ
Another poke. This time higher. More deliberate.
âD-donât! Iâm being seriousâ!â
âSo am I,â Akutagawa said, voice soft but unrelenting as he reached again. Atsushi moved to avoid his fingers but Akutagawa knew his moves all too well. Whichever way Atsushi moved to avoid his fingers Akutagawa would go to the opposite side, faking him out only to attack anyway.Â
Akutagawaâs fingers struck againâthis time not a single jab, but a series of quick, feather-light prods beneath Atsushiâs ribs.
âGYAHâA-Akutaâ! H-hehey! STAHAHAHAP!â
Atsushi curled forward instinctively, arms folding tightly around his torso as he twisted on the bed, trying to scoot away. But Akutagawa followed, calm as ever, movements precise as a scalpel.
âI donât understand.â His tone was maddeningly flat. âIf youâre tired, why are you squirmingso much?â
âBECAUSE YOUâRE TIHIHIHICKLING ME!â
âHm.â Another thoughtful prod, this time targeting the edge of Atsushiâs waist. âAre you going to admit it?â
âTh-Thatâs notââ poke poke poke âWAHAHAITâOKAY! Ohohokay! I AHAHA-ADMIT IT!â
Akutagawa actually smiled, just barelyâso faint it could be missed if you werenât looking directly at him. âGood. Then this is effective.â
He sat beside Atsushi now, his fingers slipping beneath the loose hem of the otherâs shirt with no hesitation, pressing into the dips between ribs with exacting care. Atsushi howled.
âNOHOHO FAHAHAIRâTh-ThatâsâAHAHAHAâI c-canâtâ!â
âYou said you didnât want to talk. So I found a better method.â
âTHIS IS NOT A METHOD!â
âYouâre smiling.â
Atsushi gasped through his giggles, his hands flailing and useless, trying to push Akutagawa offâbut the black-clad Port Mafia member had that terrifyingly calm energy about him. Focused. Composed. Like this was all part of some clinical experiment.
âYour reflexes are slow. You're easy to provoke,â Akutagawa observed as if he were reading a case file. âYour underarms are especially reactive.â
âD-Donât you DAREâ!!â
Too late.
Akutagawa struck again, fingers skimming deliberately up Atsushiâs sides, thumbs pressing into the vulnerable hollows just beneath his arms. The shriek that ripped out of Atsushiâs throat couldâve shaken the roof.
âAKUTAGAWAAAAAâ!!â
The name burst from Atsushiâs lips in a squealing, desperate cackle as he twisted hard to the side, nearly rolling off the bed.
Akutagawa caught him by the shoulder without a word, steadying him easily. His grip wasnât roughâbut it was firm. Intentional. Like heâd never let him fall.
Not even from something as stupid as laughter.
âStop moving,â he muttered.
âS-s-stop tickling me!â Atsushi cried, breathless, red-faced, and trembling. His chest rose and fell rapidly as giggles still clung to the edges of his voice. âY-youâre such aâa jerkâ!â
His comments didn't seem to phase Akutagawa but while he continued to wreck the weretiger a thought came to him. âI do happen to remember Dazai mentioning something to me in passing.â His hands slowed while he hovered them over the younger boy. Atsushi's giggles weren't as loud or forced just reminance of what just occurred, he looked up at Akutagawa unaware of what he was about to do. The black robed portmafia member lowered his hands shifting the weretigers shirt up just the tiniest bit revealing his belly button and Atsushiâs eyes went wide.Â
âNO NONONO DONT! HE WAS LYING!â Akutagawaâs face was still as stoic as it always was as he let out a huff.
âHeh, for someone calling Dazai-san a liar you sure seem awfully defensive.â Atsushi grabbed his shirt immediately pulling it down causing the other to scoff. âAre you really going to make me have to use Rashouman?â And the weretiger who had just thought things couldn't get any worse. He tried to bolt.
âRashouman!â Before Atsushi even made it off the bed he was pulled back and his arms moved above his head, although held by Rashouman the hold was uncharacteristically gentle. Akutagwa moved Atsushiâs shirt back up just a bit higher than his belly button this time. âNow Dazai said this spot was only to be used if extremely necessary, and I think wiping that annoying mopey look off your face entitles this to be completely necessary.â
With that Akutagawa held out a single finger and lowered it towards his button and Atsushi freaked out.
âNONONO OKOKOK I'M DONE MOPING I WONT BROOD ANYMORE!!!â
âYou surely won't after thisâ his finger delves into Atsushiâs belly button and a scream bursts out of the weretigers mouth of that of someone being murdered.Â
âAKUTAGAWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOâ Akutagawa remained stoic as ever while he wrecked Atsushi into a new dimension. His finger swirled in his bellybutton not so much digging but just enough to tickle like hell. The things Dazai had let Akutagawa in on seemed to have a major effect on Atsushi so why not try something else he thought to himself. Inadmitably Akutagawa lowered his head towards Atsushiâs tummy and this only caused his squirming to worsen ten fold.Â
âNONONONO DONT YOU DAHAHAHREâ
âOh I dare Weretiger, and I shall.â He says this with an uncharacteristic smirk on his face, and once lowered he blows. Blows a long hard raspberry on Atsushiâs belly button and he shrieks, the noise so high pitched it almost startles Akuatagawa. He almost stops but wiping that dumb sad look off his partner's face is what his main goal was right now.Â
âAIEEEEEEEEEHHEHEHEHEHEHE CRAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAP AKUTAGAWA NOHOHOHOHOHOHOâ his body thrashes and Rashouman holds firm, to keep his waist in place in holds Atsushiâs hips down with his hands and just to be a little more sadistic he rolls his thumbs into his hip dips. Atsushiâs body fights for a moment longer before collapsing allowing himself to laugh. Allowing himself to forget about what happened tonight. Besides being tickled to the brink by the rabid dog of the mafia, it feels good to be able to let go despite laughing til he can't breathe.
Only when Akutagawa sees tears and how red his face truly is and how his breathing has changed does he stop, he finally lets his hands fall away and sits up bringing his mouth away from the weretigerâs tummy as well as releasing Rashoumanâs hold. His expression didnât change muchâbut there was something calmer about it. Less tense.
ââŠYou were upset,â he said simply.
Atsushi blinked, thrown off by the shift in tone. âHuh?â
âYou were brooding. Again. That look on your faceâŠâ Akutagawa paused, then frowned. âItâs worse than your whining.â
âI wasnâtââ Atsushi hesitated. His arms dropped from their defensive curl, and he exhaled. ââŠOkay. Maybe I was a little off.â
Akutagawa didn't reply. His gaze flicked downâtoward Atsushiâs hands, still faintly trembling from the aftershock of laughterâand then away again, jaw tightening.
"I like you more when you're laughing," he muttered.
The silence stretched between them.
Atsushi slowly blinked, shocked by the words coming out of Akutagawaâs mouth, his cheeks flushing.Â
"Don't make me say it again."
A laughâthis one real, worn around the edges but warmâescaped Atsushi before he could stop it. It was softer now. No hysteria, no forced grin. Just⊠genuine.
He rubbed the back of his neck, still pink. âI- um. Thanks for uh⊠for cheering me up.â
âYouâre welcome Weretigerâ Atsushi moved hesitantly but made his way beside him laying just close enough.
âIf I see that look on your face again while we're on this mission I won't hesitate to do it again Weretigerâ Akutagawa says flatly.
Atsushi doesn't say anything but cuddles up to him regardless, causing Akutagawa to stiffen for a moment before relaxing. âPatheticâ he says dryly but wraps his arms around Atsushi anyway.
There's a silence for a beat, and Atsushi leans up pecking a kiss on Akutagwaâs cheek, and immediately the paler of the two goes red.
ââŠThanks Ryu.â Atsushi says again, cuddling into his partner, and before long Atsushi was actually able to sleep in the comforting embrace of his partner's arms.
Akutagawa looked down at the sleeping weretiger in his arms. His face remained stoic at first but the corner of his mouth twitched. Just once.
âYou smiled,â he said quietly.
He held him for the rest of the night til he fell asleep alongside him.
OH MY GOD I'M SO SO SO SORRY THIS WAS SO LATE!!!! I was having majorrrr writers block but rewatching snippets of Bungo helped so hereâs your present, Merry Christmassssss









