Tfw you’re a ghost so you can’t inflict pain but you still hate the guy who scammed you and need to torment him from behind the grave.
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I thought it would be funny if Thanos manifests as a ghost but realises he can’t cause physical harm (bc afterlife laws or whatever) so just makes it his mission to be as annoying as physically possible.
What’s worse than playing childhood games for your life? Having to do it sleep deprived because your bastard of a Thanos decides to tickle you for half the night. Plus, trying to stay quiet because everyone’s on edge and crazy and keeping them awake would put you directly on their hit list.
This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever drawn but ghost!Thanos haunts me (h a h a) so I had to draw him being a PEST. Peep the artstyle change because I shat this out in about two hours YEEHAW
A/n: this is my half of a (long awaited, omg I’m so sorry) art trade with a friend! this was a lot of fun to write; I enjoyed being able to just go ham without much ‘plot’, if compared to my previous few fics.
This is also my first Thangyu fic! I was never a real fan of the ship, but writing this made me somewhat change my mind. Thanos and Nam-gyu’s ship dynamic is a lot of fun to write. Toxic doomed yaoi oughhhh hell YEAH
Summary: Nam-gyu has taken a lot of shit from Thanos lying down, but after a prank gone wrong, he decides he needs to humble him. He doesn’t want to really hurt the guy, so he has to get…unorthodox.
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Thanos was invincible.
Well, that’s what he’d say if you were to ask him, anyway.
There was nothing in these games that could stop him. Nothing in Korea that could stop him. Hell, on a good day, he’d argue that there would be nothing on Earth that could stop him.
This confidence came from the little coloured discs he kept in his trusty cross necklace. He didn’t like to think about himself sober- as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t him. That was a different man. A separation of ID and Ego, chalk and cheese, water and oil. Someone he tried his hardest to prevent showing up.
The last time he’d been that man was at the bridge.
But now, that lesser, weaker version of himself was in danger of reappearing. He didn’t know how, or when, but the necklace he always adorned had…vanished.
He felt naked and exposed without it, despite it always being tucked safely away between his chest and his jacket, the absence going completely unnoticed by anyone but himself.
There was also the panic. That goosebump-inducing fear one gets, when their heart drops to their feet and their skin prickles. Without his drugs, he’d be unstable. He’d be scared. That pathetic man lying underneath the substance would step into his shoes and be out in the open for everyone to see.
He pictured it as he upturned his mattress and shook out his blanket. That man having to play the next game, being watched and judged by the other players as his hands shook and his breath caught and he broke down from the pressure. Getting shot as he inevitably failed whatever childish task they were set, his last moments snuffed out in a spiral of weakness and humiliation.
He was still very much riding the high of the last pill he’d taken- his last saving grace from losing his mind with panic right then and there. The arrogant part of him was telling him he’d find the cross, that he was god-like enough to carry these games on his back with or without it, but the realistic part of him dreaded the high wearing off and being unable to bring it back.
How long did he have left? Two hours? Maybe three?
‘Fuck’s sake…for fuck’s fucking sake’
His pillow hit the ground and his mattress went through something it would probably have to talk about in therapy as Thanos degloved his bunk, sheets going flying.
‘Could’a sworn I had the fuckin’ thing in the bathroom…’
‘Looking for something?’
Thanos jumped so hard he banged his head on the slats above.
‘Ow-! Fuck!’ He turned around, face scrunched in pain. ‘The fuck you- oh. Nam-su’
Nam-gyu stood with one hand in a sweater-paw and the other brushing a hair behind his ear. ‘It’s Nam-gyu’.
‘Yeah, yeah’ Thanos waved him off irritably and turned back to his search, ignorant to the flash of disdain on his cronies’ face. He was in no mood for games and the difference between ‘Su’ and ‘Gyu’ was the least significant thing in his life right now. There were drugs at stake! His drugs at stake!
Nam-gyu watched awkwardly as Thanos half-vanished under the bunk, muttering profanities about how this was all somehow MG Coin’s fault. ‘Uh- I said, ‘looking for something?’’
Thanos tutted loudly and popped his head from under the bunk to shoot Nam-gyu a scowl. It looked genuine and Nam-gyu tried to ignore the bristle of resentment blooming in his chest. He’d been nothing but loyal to Thanos and he was repaying him by treating him like shit? Like an annoying dog he couldn’t get rid of?
Thanos remained oblivious.
‘Yeah, man, I’ve fuckin’ lost something’ He vanished under the bunk again. ‘The hell gave it away?’
Player 124 stood there perplexed and, if he was honest, a little hurt. Sure, Thanos usually treated him lesser- forgetting his name, leaning on him like furniture, talking at him just to hear his own voice- but that was all more out of ignorance and arrogance than malice.
But right now he actually seemed…genuinely irritated. Like Nam-gyu was a nuisance, someone inferior to talk down to.
They were supposed to be a team, right? A dynamic duo, better than all the other leeches in this shithole. Thanos spoke to them like that. Not him. Not his right-hand man.
Well. Whatever. Fine.
Little did he know that Nam-gyu was a man who had finally hit his limit and finally, for once in his life, gotten the upper hand.
‘What’ve you lost?’ He tried to keep his voice level, putting on a convincing enough tone that he sounded innocently inquisitive.
‘…My cross’ came the muffled reply.
‘I could help you find it?’
‘Well start helpin’ then, man, shit. You waitin’ for an invite?’
Another rude jab, another angry clench in Nam-gyu’s chest.
It was him who’d taken the cross.
Thanos had taken it off to adjust his shirt, because it was on backwards, and somehow not noticed that it hadn’t made his way back around his neck.
It was supposed to be a prank; Nam-gyu couldn’t say it was totally harmless, because he knew how much Thanos relied on those pills, but he’d have given it straight back after the penny dropped. Really, he would’ve.
Maybe the older man would’ve been a bit annoyed, but Nam-gyu knew he’d never stay annoyed at his number one pal. It was supposed to be a fun bonding thing! Something friends did with each other, just some teasing to lighten the mood! The moment had been right there- what was he supposed to have done? Not taken it?
But the penny hadn’t dropped when it was supposed to. He hadn’t noticed at all that the cross had vanished.
So Nam-gyu didn’t tell him.
In his head, he thought it would be funnier, actually. Thanos would realise hours later, freak out, and Nam-gyu would’ve given it back in a hilarious gotcha moment. Thanos would’ve given him a shove to the shoulder, insulted him playfully, and that would’ve been that.
It was supposed to be funny, goddammit! He didn’t mean to direct Thanos’ anger toward him.
He watched as Thanos shuffled himself further under the bed, his torso almost disappearing completely. He was still muttering profanities about how the world was wronging him and something about being too good for this shit.
‘You gettin’ down here or what?!’
That was said with enough venom to kill a horse.
Any sense of guilt Nam-gyu was feeling evaporated immediately.
He stared at what little of Thanos was visible sticking out from under the bunk. His shirt had ridden up, showing a sliver of lean muscle as he stretched flat on his stomach.
An idea hatched. A wonderful idea.
A ticklish idea.
He couldn’t hurt Thanos- even if the idea of giving him a cuff round the back of the head was deeply satisfying. He needed the older man on his side and, preferably, he didn’t want to instigate a fight with someone as volatile and unpredictable as him.
He wasn’t really sure if he actually did want to hurt Thanos, anyway. The satisfaction wouldn’t be so much having him writhe around in pain, more just…from him being taken down a peg. He didn’t have to be violent to achieve that, right?
So…tickling it was. It was stupid and immature but in Nam-gyu’s opinion, that suited Thanos’ character perfectly. In fact, he’d probably be right at home squealing and giggling like a child.
He crouched down next to Thanos, who at this point wouldn’t have even noticed if the overhead piggybank exploded the prize money all over the floor.
Nam-gyu used a thumb and forefinger to gingerly push the shirt up just a smidge more, exposing more skin. He held back a laugh, which is more than could be said for Thanos in 3…2…
1.
‘WHA-!!’
The bunk almost tipped over from how explosively Thanos jerked.
Nam-gyu had buried his fingers in the exposed flesh and squeezed. Just once to test the waters. If Thanos wasn’t ticklish, his whole plan would fall through…and he’d probably get a punch in the face.
But, evidently, the druggie was extremely ticklish. Nam-gyu’s face could remain unpunched and his resentment could find an outlet via the most ridiculous method in the world.
‘Nam-su! The fuck are you doin’?’ Came the outraged cry from under the bunk.
‘Nothing, man. What are you freaking out about? You see a spider or something?’
‘Wh- Nam-su! You just- you-!’
‘What?’
‘You just did somethin’!’
Nam-gyu looked down lazily. He’d positioned himself cross-legged next to Thanos, head in his hand and a growing smirk. His other hand still had a palmful of rapper.
‘Told you, dude. Nothing’s happening on my end’
‘I can feel your fuckin’ hand on meeEEE!’
Thanos’ voice cracked embarrassingly and his legs kicked as his side was suddenly subjected to electrifying, horrible, awful ticklish sensation.
Again, and again, and again.
‘HA! HahaHAahaha! STOP! Whahahat the hehe-ahaha- HELL!’
Nam-gyu was chuckling to himself, eyebrows raised in amusement. The hand holding his chin was now directing harsh pokes around the skin not being squeezed.
Thanos tried to aim his frantic kicking toward his attacker, and when that didn’t work he did the only thing left he could- crawl backwards. It was a movement driven by pure instinct, a desperate, brainless attempt to get the hell away from the tickles.
But that just pushed him closer to the tickles. The further out from the bunk he was, the more him there was to squeeze and prod and terrorise.
Nam-gyu grinned, leant over and squeezed at the other side, up and down up and down, both obliques getting the same treatment. He only squeezed harder when Thanos screeched and immediately scuttled forward reflexively.
He’d never be caught dead scurrying like a rat, trying to hide under a bed like a child, but Nam-gyu was tickling him so effectively that his body quite literally gave him no choice. He wasn’t thinking about how pathetic he looked. He couldn’t think about anything, really, except how he had to distance himself from the fingers needling into his skin.
‘Ah ah ah! Where the hell do you think you’re going?’ Nam-gyu momentarily stopped squeezing and instead gripped low on Thanos’ hips and pulled. The older man came sliding out and immediately rolled onto his back, slapping at the air. Nam-gyu evaded them swiftly and laughed with delight. ‘Careful hyung! Almost got me!’
‘HEY! Stop! What the fuck are you doin’, man?!’
He tried to draw up his legs protectively but 124 clamped onto his knees and pulsed, causing Thanos to lose what little composure he had left and fall back laughing helplessly. Nam-gyu took this opportunity to give one more squeeze and shoved those lean legs down, giving more than enough space to straddle the struggling player.
Thanos stared up at him with furious, watery eyes. His hands grabbed Nam-gyu’s forearms, the only part of him he could reach. He held them at arms length.
‘SERIOUSLY!’ His voice came out uncharacteristically panicked. Nam-gyu snorted- the great Thanos, losing his mind, looking like he was about to combust, all from 30 seconds of tickling?
‘Yknow, Thanos- if I’d known it’d be this easy to fuck with you, I’d have done it back at Pentagon. You think you’d still look cool?’ His hands settled on Thanos’ waist. ‘You think you’d still have all those bitches over you if they knew it only took this’ he jabbed the soft spot under his ribs and felt him jerk ‘to completely unravel you?’.
Thanos was shaking.
Not out of fear- at least, that’s what he’d tell himself when he revisited this later. He was shaking from anger. Betrayal! How could his Nam-su be doing this to him!
‘Nam-su…’ he breathed heavily and tried to stabilise himself. He couldn’t show even a modicum of distress. He was the great Thanos for crying out loud. ‘I don’t know what you think you’re fuckin’ doing, my boy. But you gotta get the fuck offa me right the fuck now’.
Nam-gyu narrowed his eyes playfully and studied him. Thanos was trying his hardest to look threatening- breathing hard through his nose, chin jutting arrogantly, eyes stern and focused. It was a ridiculous display from a man who’d been scampering under a bed 10 seconds ago.
He could feel tremors from where Thanos was still clinging to his arms.
‘Woooow’ Nam-gyu drawled. 'That's pretty terrifying, dude. That's scary. You're a scary guy', and without warning, flexed his fingers into claws and lunged. ‘BOO!’
Thanos drew a sharp intake of breath and shoved as hard as he could with a loud ‘NO!’.
It took only a few moments for him to catch himself but the damage was done. He looked up at Nam-gyu with wide, disbelieving eyes- the younger man was laughing at him. Full, shoulder-shaking belly laughing.
‘That wasn’t fuckin’ funny’ he snapped, desperately trying to maintain his tough guy persona. Surely nam-su would get bored if he just…didn’t react? If he showed that he was better than this childish shit?
'Yeah? Then why are you laughing?'
'Wh- I'm not fuckin' laughihIHIHING! AHAHAHA!' Thanos' head thumped back and he tried to twist away from the fingers scrunching into his stomach. His hips bucked involuntarily to launch off his attacker, and for one wonderful, fleeting moment he actually managed to bounce Nam-gyu a little.
A little was all it took for Thanos to use all his core strength and sit upright, shoving at Nam-gyu's shoulders and sending the younger man toppling sideways. The rapper was still giggling from aftershocks as he pushed backwards on his hands at a rapid speed, one inch then two then-
Thunk
His back hit the hard railing of the bunk he was searching under moments before, so he was now sitting upright. His mind raced for an escape route when it circled back to that sweet safety of being hidden under mattress and metal that, really, wasn't much safety at all otherwise he wouldn't be trapped in this situation in the first place.
God, why couldn't he have searched a little harder? Why couldn't he have been fully under the damn bunk, away from Nam-gyu's stupid tickling hands?
He kicked himself for not having the magical ability of telling the future.
Meanwhile Nam-gyu, on any other day, would've been furious at being pushed so violently and sent to the floor like a ragdoll...but it wasn't like it was out of real aggression, nor was he actually hurt. He hadn't even really 'fallen over' at all, honestly. He was merely sent an inch to the right and had caught himself in a spiderman-like crouch.
'Woah-ho-ho!' He chuckled, his prey drive blooming. The chase was on.
Not that there was much of a ‘chase’. The gaps either side of the bunks were too small for Thanos to zip through without launching himself directly into Nam-gyu's grasp…so he was just kind of…stuck. In fact, he was in a worse position than he was before. Idiot.
'N-Nam-su, man- I'm serious- Don't come any fuckin' closer!'
Nam-gyu was crawling toward him playfully on his hands and knees, hunched like an apex predator hunting its next meal. With every inch he got closer Thanos became visibly more frantic, even going so far as to kick a leg out. It went nowhere near his target but coordination was never his best attribute.
'Come oooon, Hyung' sang Nam-gyu, voice laced with cruel tittering. His eyes were wide and he had that same exaggerated expression one would use if they were playing with a small child. His head tilted to the side and he narrowly dodged another kick with a delighted giggle. 'You're way too ticklish to not let me tickle you. So be good and-'
Another kick, this time accompanied by a squeak that Thanos would rather shave his head than confess to, and Nam-gyu cackled and leapt with a '-Lemme just do it!'
Thanos was taken by surprise at how much weight such a slender man could have, but the forefront of his mind was overtaken with 'oh fuck not again'.
They were chest to chest, Nam-gyu sitting heavy on his thighs. Both his hands held tight to Thanos' arms, pushing with inward pressure to ensure they couldn't flail or punch or... whatever else Thanos' hands did. Air guitar for all he cared.
Thanos was breathing heavily and something horrid curled in his chest. The way Nam-gyu was looking at him made something primal stand his hair on end, some billions-of-years-of-evolutionary defence mechanism telling him to run, to get far away.
But there was no running. No getting away. Just the inevitable.
His arms strained against Nam-gyu’s. He wriggled unflatteringly and his underbite twisted into a grimace of disgruntled fury.
‘The hell you playin’ at?! Why’re you- why’re you all up in my shit like this?’
‘Give me a reason’
‘Huh?’ Thanos stopped struggling and looked up. In such a position, Nam-gyu had height on him. Thanos was taller than average and it was foreign to him to have to tilt his head back to address someone. He much preferred talking down to people. It made him feel big.
He wasn’t feeling so big right now.
‘Give me a reason not to make you lose your shit laughing’ Thanos felt the pressure on his arms tighten and move downwards, until his wrists bore the brunt of it. In a flash, Nam-gyu shifted even further still, practically grinding Thanos’ lower belly with his own- and then his wrists were free for just an instant, Nam-gyu moving his hands away and immediately replacing them with his knees.
‘Wh-’ it had happened so fast that Thanos couldn’t have even taken advantage of the brief freedom. Not to mention, player 124 was now even further on his lap, if that was possible. The room between them was nonexistent. He could almost feel their heartbeats synching together, both equally as fast, both for different reasons.
It was a small mercy that they were hidden somewhere relatively private. Thanos’ image could remain intact (to anyone except Nam-gyu, obviously). To an outside viewer, being caught in such a compromising position would look…
Thanos chose not to think about that.
He gave one last wriggle, one last attempt at escaping what would undoubtedly be one of the worst fates imaginable for a guy like him, before giving up. He was almost immobile, Nam-gyu had made sure of that.
His brow furrowed, bravado clinging by a thread, and when he spoke he sounded…
Pathetic. Like a man on death row pretending not to be scared.
‘I ain’t givin’ you shit, Nam-su’
Nam-gyu smirked. He’d hoped he’d say that.
He weasled his arms into the barely-there space between them, forming his slender fingers into claws and nestling them on either side of Thanos’ ribcage.
‘What did you say, Hyung?’
His clawed fingers pressed down, palms roaming as he adjusted his fingerpads so that they pushed into the grooves between Thanos’ ribs. Snug. Secure. Primed for absolutely wrecking a certain manchild nearing 40. ‘Wanna try again? Last chaaance!’
At the feeling of Nam-gyu’s digits pushing between those ever-so ticklish bones, Thanos’ squirming renewed with vigour. His face crumpled, an expression that Nam-gyu had never seen a human being make.
‘Wai- wait! Waitwaitwait!’ Player 230 was caught in a loop of wriggling because of the anticipation, inadvertently tickling himself, and then wriggling more because he was tickling himself. ‘St-stahp! Just gimme a mihihinute!’
‘I’m not even doing anything, dude! That’s all you!’ The threatening, vengeful persona Nam-gyu had been putting on dissolved involuntarily at the sight of Thanos giggling frantically at quite literally nothing. He laughed despite himself, trying to hold himself together.
‘C’mon, Thanos!’ Nam-gyu hunched over to try and catch Thanos’ eye, not unlike how he’d get all close and personal to that Min-su wimp whilst intimidating him. Although, that was a lot easier of a feat than intimating Thanos, and also wasn’t usually while Min-su was being tickled.
…
That was an idea, actually…tickling Min-su would be fucking hilarious.
But he had to stay focused with the task at hand.
‘Gimme an answeeer!’ He was so close, almost nose to nose, that he could see the slight crows feet scrunch by the older man’s eyes, his eyebrows knotted together with frustration as he laughed and laughed and laughed.
Nam-gyu snorted, his own eyebrows raising in disbelief, because this was the stupidest thing he’d ever witnessed.
‘Hihihi! Hehehehe!’ Thanos’ laughter was high and strained like he was trying to choke it back down.
He was wheezing now. Actually wheezing. From tickling himself on Nam-gyu’s fingers. His torso twisted fruitlessly from side to side, squirming reflexively from the self-inflicted tickles and dooming himself to even more.
Nam-gyu would’ve been more than happy to let this go on until Thanos eliminated himself via giggles, but it did seem like the dude had been about to give him an answer to his question (if he could even remember what it was after laughing himself stupid). No doubt it would’ve been something pitiful that served no other function than giving Nam-gyu more of an excuse to tickle the daylights out of him, but hey! He was a fair man. He’d hear him out.
It’s not like he was going to stop anyway.
He lifted his fingers so that they weren’t burrowed so hard into those unfortunate ribs, now just brushing against the tracksuit fabric without causing ticklish sensation. The pressure relieved, the threat still active.
‘Ahaha! Haha-hihihe…ha…whew…’ Thanos shuddered a little from the lingering tingles, dopey smile on his face that he covered up by pretending to clear his throat. His head hung slightly and he lifted his eyes, immediately flinching because Nam-gyu’s were right there.
‘Fuckin’-!!’ He gasped. Nam-gyu tittered, eyes squinting.
‘Awhh, you don’t hafta be scared of lil ol’ me! Now- reason. Out with it’
Thanos thunked his head back slowly with the air of a man defeated and looked toward the sky.
‘Well…’
‘Weeell?’
‘I’ve lost my cross, yeah?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Well I gotta get lookin’ for the damn thing!’ Thanos snapped his head forward with exasperation. If his hands were free he’d have thrown them up.
‘Why?’
‘Because I need it!’
‘Why?’
‘Because the longer you’re sittin’ on me an’ touchin’ me up, the more chance of some other leech in here gettin’ to it first!’
‘Why?’
‘Is this it? Is this your little game? You keep needlin’ me ‘til my brain explodes?’
Nam-gyu studied him with a tight lipped grin before sitting back upright. Thanos’ gaze followed, once again forced to look up. He hated this.
Without a word, or a break in character, Nam-gyu withdrew a hand from Thanos’ body and delved into his pocket. With a smooth motion he pulled out the cross.
Thanos’ eyes widened and his mouth moved, trying to articulate his shock.
On top of that, though, was immense relief. His cross was right there. It was safe. Nobody had popped one of his drugs, except maybe Nam-gyu, but that was fine because it had always been fine and even after all this it would still be fine.
The idea of some other random bastard stealing a pill from him, though, made his blood boil.
‘Wh- wh- how-?’
Nam-gyu gambled with settling heavier on Thanos’ lap, not-so-subtly squeezing around it with his own thighs. He got bolder when Thanos didn’t protest- either because he was too oblivious to notice, didn’t care, or too relieved that his cross was safe- and his other hand, the hand still grasped on Thanos’ ribs, rubbed up and down. Not to tickle or torment- just…because. Maybe to soothe him, or just…to touch.
He dangled the cross by the chain, swinging it teasingly to and fro. His other hand stilled from where it was rubbing up and down Thanos’ side and took to cupping his waist, thumb rubbing in circles.
‘You want it back?’
‘Yes, dickhead, I want it back’
Nam-gyu pouted and cocked his head to the side.
‘Awhh. That’s not very nice. Ask me nicely’
‘Nam-su, give me the fuckin’ thing back’
Nam-gyu’s fake pout curdled into something more genuine. An anger flickered behind his eyes.
‘What’d you call me?’
‘I called you a dickhead, because you’re bein’ one’
‘No, no- my name. Say it again’
Thanos exhaled sharply out his nose like this was all a great inconvenience.
‘Nam-su. Give me my-’
‘I’m gonna have to train that outta you, huh’
Nam-gyu pointedly put the chain around his own neck, revelling in how Thanos made a furious noise powered solely by needing his fix, squirming like a worm on a hook. For once, he was completely helpless. Nam-gyu’s knees held tight around his forearms and he was powerless to do a single fucking thing.
‘You ready?’ Nam-gyu said without looking at him, adjusting the cross so it lay perfectly in Thanos’ eyeline. With how close they were, Thanos would’ve probably been able to grab it with his teeth. Not that that would’ve done any good.
‘Ready for…for what?’ Thanos’ voice wavered. Nam-su wasn’t about to carry on that stupid tickling shit, right?
‘For your training, dumbass’
Before Thanos could even question what the hell Nam-gyu meant, he felt those damn fingers slide back into place between his ribs and squeeze.
Over and over and over. The fingertips applying light pressure as they sunk in, only to retract with a harder touch as they rubbed along the length of the bone, getting faster and faster.
‘WHAHAHAHAHAHA!’ Thanos exploded and his legs thrashed, the only part of him that could move, eyes screwing shut. Fuck, that tickled. That tickled bad. Whatever technique Nam-gyu was using was so much worse than before; because now he meant it. He was tickling him not to play, but to make a point.
‘FUCK!’ Was the only unbroken word Thanos could bark out before melting into uncontrollable laughter again, trying to find purchase with his feet to buck his attacker off.
The angle was all wrong, and Nam-gyu stayed firmly on top of him. Panic rose in Thanos’ chest as he realised that this time there was no escape. There was just…this.
Nam-gyu sped his fingers up, this time instead of squeezing, scrunching up and down.
‘FUHUHAHAHA! ST-STOHOHO-AhahahAHAHA!’
Thanos had no idea why this was happening. It wasn’t fair! He’d said the thing. The- the thing Nam-gyu wanted him to say. What was it again?
He couldn’t remember. His mind was white with sensation. There were no thoughts that could hold themselves together long enough through the horrid ticklish shocks. He just knew there was a question, and he had answered, and that should’ve put a stop to this torture.
So why the fuck wasn’t it?!
‘Whassamatter? That tickle? Huh? The great Thanos got tickly ribbies?’
Nam-gyu put on that awful pout again, a horrible syrupy tone, leaning in so close their foreheads almost touched. He knew he was playing with fire, because along with Thanos’ legs, his head was the only other thing that was mobile. He could very easily get a nasty headbutt, and it wouldn’t even be on purpose. Thanos couldn’t control a single thing about himself right now.
But whatever. Fire was great. He loved fire. He could play with it a little longer.
‘STAHAHAHAAA! ST-STOHohOhoho- HihihIHIHI!’
The guy kept trying to repeat that word- ‘stop’. Each attempt became more and more desperate.
‘This must suck for you, dude’ Nam-gyu moved his hands down to that sensitive soft divot above the hips that every human has. His fingers curled around Thanos’ waist so all his strength could be used for his thumbs to dig in and out, vibrating into the muscle. They ventured outwards to the hem of his waistband, pushing into the soft flesh for a few seconds, before making their way back to the divots. ‘Poor pathetic thing’
Thanos’ back arched (well, as much as it could with a lapful of Nam-gyu) and he shook his head whilst cackling like a madman. Nam-gyu was eerily skilled at this. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt, anything he’d ever feel, and for a brief moment he thought he’d rather be in a death game than feel it for one more second.
‘HAHaha-hhh-HEHEHAHAAH-!’ His laughter went silent for a second before coming back worse. His stomach was cramping with how hard he was laughing and he found himself losing the strength in his torso, head coming to drop against Nam-gyu’s shoulder.
Nam-gyu smirked down at the purple tuft of hair against him.
‘Awhhh…poor ticklish hyung…’
The older man buried further into Nam-gyu’s shoulder, body instinctively seeking comfort, seeking warmth, even if it were from the very thing tormenting him. It was like holding tight to the wrist of the man running a blade through your chest; involuntary, primal, that desperate human need not to suffer alone.
There was a brief pause, hardly noticeable for Thanos’ abused nervous system, as Nam-gyu unzipped Thanos’ player tracksuit in one smooth motion; one hand braced on his shoulder, the other working the zipper until it exposed the thin player shirt. The sudden rush of air and absence of tickling (which now felt alien) made Thanos sit bolt upright. It was so sudden that Nam-gyu jumped in his lap.
His head narrowly avoided cracking against the bunk railing if it weren’t for Nam-gyu’s fast reflexes, rapidly cupping the back of Thanos’ skull without thinking. He wanted the ex-rapper to suffer but not like that.
Besides, if Thanos passed out from blood loss, how could the fun continue?
‘Woah, woah! Steady, dude. I’m not gonna hurt you’ said in a tone that most certainly implied otherwise, if given the chance. ‘What, you tryna knock yourself out or something?’
‘Whu- what are y’doin’, man?’ Thanos’ eyes flickered rapidly from Nam-gyu’s smirking face to his open jacket. Well- he couldn’t actually see his open jacket, due to there being not enough space between them for Thanos to so much as angle his chin downwards- even less when Nam-gyu’s hand gently moved from behind his skull and slinked over Thanos’ shoulder, the other following suit, slow as anything, until both sides of his head were boxed in. If he looked to the left- there was Nam-gyu’s arm. If he looked to the right- there was the other one.
His head was forced forwards, staring at Nam-gyu, nose to nose. He felt the hands over his shoulders clasp together, tightening the proximity.
Thanos swallowed thickly and flushed impossibly redder. For once he didn’t have any threat to make, any smart remark or cocky quip. The great Thanos was left speechless, perpetuating that there was, in fact, a first time for everything.
Nam-gyu stayed like that for a little longer- taking in how Thanos’ mouth was parted, his eyebrows furrowed with startled confusion, his drug-addled brain trying to make sense of what was happening right now- and let the tension hang.
‘I can tell you how to make this stop, if you want?’
His lips tugged in a downwards smile as he tried not to laugh when he saw Thanos get visibly irate at this. Having the upper hand was so much fun.
‘…what the fuck do you want from me, boy’
He could tell it was killing the older man to be so powerless. His nostrils were flaring with every tight breath, jaw set tight, and every few seconds he’d jolt violently to try and break free- but this wasn’t something he could violence his way out of- it was just tickling. It’s not like he was being beaten or shot at.
‘I want you…’ Nam-gyu leant back, giving Thanos some breathing room- not out of kindness, hell no. Flustering this immature manchild with a few sultry words and touches was the funniest thing he’d ever done- no, he’d only moved back so he could have the room to slowly drag his palms down Thanos’ shoulders, past his chest, and settling on his stomach.
‘…to say my name’
The slow descent of Nam-gyu’s hands had made Thanos’ squirming return with renewed vigour, eyes squeezing shut and gritting his teeth, expecting another round of torment- but this strange request made him go stock still, eyes slowly reopening. It was now he realised that Nam-gyu’s fingers were continuing to just…hold him, fingers splayed almost mockingly tender on his abs, framing his navel under his shirt.
‘…’ was this a trick?
Thanos huffed a small, unsure laugh, raising an eyebrow. His mouth curled in the world’s most awkward smile. ‘What?’
It was bizarre seeing Thanos awkward. He was usually outrageously loud, the loudest and most confident in the room, or even perhaps anxious (when he thought Nam-gyu wasn’t looking)- but ‘awkward’ was never a word anyone would ever use to describe Choi Su-bong.
‘Your ears working?’ Nam-gyu gave him a quick tap on the cheek before placing it back on the twitching stomach. ‘Say it. Say my name’
Thanos turned his head and looked across the room at nothing in particular, before turning his head back and cocking it with an arrogant smile and a scoff.
‘That it? Fine’ it was his turn to lean closer now, awkwardness forgotten, lips curled in a sarcastic grin. ‘Nam-su’.
The two men looked at each other for a while. Thanos leant back with a sigh. The whole thing suddenly felt very casual to him, like he’d regained control by playing into Nam-su’s little game.
‘Aawhh…’ the hands on his stomach started to scratch. Slowly. Purposefully. Not ticklish yet, more just irritating than anything, but it was enough to make Thanos realise he hadn’t won after all.
‘No, sorry, man’ Nam-gyu looked him up and down and sighed heavily, pursing his lips into a disapproving inward line, like he was truly disappointed. Like he’d just seen his child feed the dog from under the table. ‘That wasn’t it’
Thanos frowned and went to say something but was interrupted.
‘So now you get tickled. You get tickled until you cry’
‘The fuhuHUHUHUHUCK?! NONONOHOHOhoHohOHO!’ Thanos didn’t even have the luxury of voicing his confusion as those fingers on his stomach pressed in until they found resistance of the taut muscle and shook. Cruel vibrations in place, stimulating the nerves until Thanos was shrieking and thrashing and shuffling his feet uselessly on the floor, trying to find purchase. It was no good.
‘STAHAHAHAHA- FUCK! FUHUhuhuhHUCK!!’
‘That’s not what I wanna hear, hyung’
Thanos had taken to squeezing his knees together, knocking them against each other again and again to put the overwhelming tickling feeling into something.
He could feel every nerve scream at him to make it stop, and for every second that he couldn’t, it all only seemed to get more ticklish. It was like his sensitivity was punishing him.
Why are we just sitting here and taking this? It shouted. We have arms, don’t we? Use them. Shove him off. Fight.
It didn’t seem to understand that there was no using his arms. He could hardly even use his legs, save for the pitiful knee-knocking. The only part of him he could use was his mouth, and fuck, was he using it. His cheeks were starting to ache from how long he’d been smiling.
‘STAHhahahaAHAHAP! PLEEAHAHAHASE!’
The beg came involuntarily, the same way blinking was involuntary, just a body carrying out a necessary function. The vibrations had moved, Nam-gyu sliding his palms outward and back again, hitting new un-tickled real estate.
‘That’s an improvement I suppose’ Thanos could hardly process what his teammate was saying through the white hot sensation. He felt two fingers suddenly dig into the lean strip of flesh where his obliques connected his stomach and buzz mercilessly, tasering over and over. ‘But nope, not my name! Try agaiiiin!’
‘SHIHIHIHIT!!’ Tears were running freely down his cheeks. He didn’t know when they’d started. All he knew is that this had to end before he lost his mind.
‘NAHAHAHM-SU! NAHhahHAM-SUHUhuhuHU!’ His cheeks burnt both from humiliation and the fact he’d been smiling so wide for so long. His stomach and sides continued to cramp, just another layer of overstimulation. ‘NAHAM-SU!’
He was repeating it over and over, as if he thought it would save him. Nam-gyu felt a genuine surge of anger at this- Thanos was saying (or rather, cackling) it with such conviction, and surely couldn’t be holding out this long purely out of spite (the man was practically hyperventilating with laughter for gods sake), so…
…it became clear that Thanos thought ‘Nam-su’ really was his name. He wasn’t trying to be antagonising, or messing up on purpose, which was the false hope Nam-gyu had been clinging to. He just-
Didn’t know.
This whole time. 3, 4 days even- he didn’t know his fucking name.
‘You fucker’ Nam-gyu, who was very much not Nam-su, hissed and forced his hands into the tight space under Thanos’ arms, ignoring the panicked screech it elicited as he drilled and dug into the sensitive hollows. ‘You don’t know, do you? You really, actually, genuinely don’t know my name’
Thanos’ mouth had been forced into a painfully aching grin for so long now that a thin line of drool was running from his lips. He didn’t have the capacity to care.
He tried to clamp his arms down, but there wasn’t really any space to clamp down on. They were already so fused to his sides, it was a miracle Nam-gyu had even managed to get his hands in there in the first place. Maybe he was just that determined.
Fuck, his armpits were a bad spot. A terrible spot. The club promoter was digging ruthlessly, taking out his annoyance on those miserable nerve endings. His fingers had taken to rubbing viciously into the pit, working into the muscle.
Thanos’ face was a concerning shade of red and he felt as though he couldn’t keep up with his own laughter. It cut out in random intervals, changing from uproarious howling to soundless wheezing.
What was his name? It was definitely Nam something…Nam…Naaaam….
‘NAM-GYU!’
The tickling cut out immediately. Thanos panted and shook, residual giggles causing him to twitch. His head fell forward onto Nam-gyu’s shoulder, tears soaking into the fabric of his jacket. ‘Hooo…whew…holy- holy shit’
With great effort he lolled his head upwards, seeing how stupid he must’ve looked in his minds-eye, blinking tears from his vision.
Nam-gyu seemed to be studying him with an unreadable expression.
‘There y’go, man… -huff- that’s what you- you wanted, right?’
No response.
‘Nam-gyu?’
They held each others gaze for a beat longer before Nam-gyu withdrew his fingers and squeezed Thanos’ shoulders.
‘That’s a start’
‘A start?! Th- the fuck?! I said what you wanted you asshole!’
Nam-gyu would be lying if he said that Thanos’ outrage wasn’t satisfying. For once, he had the upper hand, he held the power and it was up to him when he decided this was over.
He wanted to see how low he could force Thanos to stoop.
‘Say ‘I’m a loser’’
Thanos may have been tickled within an inch of his life, humiliated and betrayed (in his eyes anyway) but his spirit was far from broken. His ego was way too big to crumble from something like this.
‘You’re goin’ way too fuckin’ far, Nam-s- uh, Nam-gyu’
Hm. Crumbled enough to correct himself on instinct it seemed. The ‘training’ had worked and Nam-gyu couldn’t stop the giddiness it elicited.
‘You don’t have to say it. Not if you would rather be tickled again. Would you like that?’ The hands squeezing Thanos’ shoulders used their thumbs to tease at the accentuated collarbone, playing with the ridge, massaging a little too hard to be pleasant. Thanos grit his teeth and let out an involuntary frustrated giggle.
‘That feel nice?’ The thumbs started tapping sporadically. It wasn’t enough to induce proper laughter, not like the cruel treatment from seconds ago, but Thanos’ nervous system was firing all jets and even this ‘nicer’ touch was still ticklish for him. ‘Want me to keep going?’ The thumbs pressed in harder and Thanos whined.
‘Fi-fihihine! I’ll say the damn thing!’
‘Go oooon…’
‘I…I’m a…’
Despite himself, the great Thanos just…couldn’t bring himself to say such a thing. Admit he’s a loser? He may as well have admitted he wasn’t the single greatest rapper on Earth.
‘So close, hyung…just one more little word…’ Nam-gyu’s palms travelled downwards to Thanos’ ribs and gave a quick squeeze.
‘Agh-! I’m…’
‘You’re?’
Thanos set his jaw and glared- as best he could with his mouth twitching at the edges, yet again just from the potential of those damn fingers dismantling him all over again- and tsk’d.
‘I’m better than you’
Nam-gyu, who was prepared to hear what would’ve been the sweetest words he could ever hear, just stared in disbelief. ‘You serious?’
‘Sorry, I mean-’ thanos sat up straighter like he was about to give a grand speech. Cleared his throat dramatically ‘I’m better than you, Nam-gyu’
Nam-gyu continued to stare. He was determined not to show how deep that actually cut. It shouldn’t have- Thanos thought he was better than everyone. He would expect the King of England to bow to him.
But it was something about hearing it out loud. Directed at him. The way Thanos puffed out his chest, and the way he actually used his real name at the end. It was on purpose. It made Nam-gyu feel so fucking small.
He couldn’t keep himself collected as he squeezed over and over at Thanos’ ribs, possibly harder than necessary.
Thanos predictably fell into frantic laughter. And it was now he realised he made a mistake.
‘WAIHIHIHIT! WAIT! WAHAHAHA!’
In the heat of the moment he had no issue being so rude. He lacked any emotional permanence- the previous tickling had been awful and he’d have given anything for it to stop, but as soon as it finished, it was as if he couldn’t remember how intense the past however many minutes had been.
He remembered now. Very much.
He’d rather die than admit it, but he found himself wishing he’d just said the damn line. Nam-gyu was being a lot more ruthless now. It tickled so bad it almost hurt.
Thanos’ laughter was so loud wild it brought about the attention of other players. In an effort to muffle it, to hide himself, he buried his face back into Nam-gyu.
But not his shoulder this time. His neck.
Nam-gyu was so shocked he almost stopped the torture. He could feel Thanos laughing into his bare skin, tears and what he thought might have been…something else, wetting his neck. He could feel Thanos’ lips stretched into a smile nestled against the crook. Even the enamel of his teeth against his pulse point.
He hoped Thanos wouldn’t get any ideas about biting.
Not that he could bite, what with laughing so hard. He couldn’t close his mouth enough for that.
‘Yeah, that’s right…laugh it up’ his voice came out in a soft, pleased murmur. ‘This is what arrogant little pricks like you deserve’
Player 230 should’ve been burning with rage at being spoken to in such a way, but it was hard to hold onto any anger when you had fingers in your ribs tickling you stupid.
Besides, his only thought in this moment was ‘say whatever it takes to make him stop’.
‘IHih- I’M A lOhohoHO- a lAHAHAaha-‘
He was trying dammit! If Nam-gyu would just stop paying extra attention to his middle ribs, he could spit it out-
‘Ihihihi’m a lo-LOHOHOHOSER!’
‘Yeah?’
‘YEHEHEHEHES!’
‘Say it again’
Thanos wailed through his laughter and weakly thumped his head once, then twice, against the crook of Nam-gyu’s shoulder. His forehead was pressed flush against the younger man’s neck and he went even more boneless when Nam-gyu started knuckling up and down his entire ribcage, both sides, lengthwise as if he was scrubbing on a washboard.
The club promoter had to use all his willpower to not push Thanos off him just because of the sheer volume of his screech. He’d never heard a grown man make such a sound.
Thanos would repeat anything asked of him at this moment, and Nam-gyu knew this, but who fucking cared if it wasn’t genuine? It was coming from Thanos, in Thanos’ voice, pressed against Nam-gyu’s skin. That was more than enough.
‘I LIHIHIHIKE IHIHIT!’
Thanos had taken to trying to push Nam-gyu off with just his head, trying to force proximity. It achieved nothing other than giving the older man a slight headache.
‘Hihehehihi-ahahaHaha! Dahahahamihihit! St-stahahAHAHAahap! I lihihiHihiHike ihihit! I’m a- ahaha- a lOhohohoser!’
His protests were becoming weaker, not from lack of desire to make it stop, but because he’d been laughing so hard for so long that his lungs were screaming in protest and he couldn’t get enough air to keep up with the stimulation.
Nam-gyu could tell he was going to have to ease things up, or he’d be dealing with something…messier. In multiple ways.
He stilled his knuckles and instead rubbed with the flat of his palm, mockingly grounding Thanos, like applying pressure to someone’s wound to relieve the pain.
Thanos panted into the crook of his neck, and without thinking- rubbed his face right into the flushed (when did that happen?) skin, drying his tears. It did very little to stop them, the liquid still coming even after the laughter had halted, but at least it somewhat saved face.
If saving face was nuzzling your teammates pulse point like a cat.
Nam-gyu expected him to rip his head away as fast as possible now that he didn’t need a warm surface to cackle into, but…he didn’t. He just rested there.
He could’ve laughed at him, could’ve called him something unsavoury, but who was he to do so when he’d been practically feeling him up for the past twenty minutes. He wasn’t exactly in a position to call out another man’s touch when he was so deep in said man’s lap.
Nam-gyu couldn’t help himself.
He brought up his arms and very gently, very carefully, wrapped one around Thanos’ upper back and the other came to rest on the back of his head. He gave the damp hair a scratch, nails carding through his hair and sliding over his scalp, thumb rubbing at the nape of his neck.
Thanos melted into it and made a soft groan.
‘Mmmngh…’
After such intense torment, the soft touch came as the ultimate relief. His shoulders heaved under Nam-gyu’s arm and his eyes remained closed as he tried to regulate his breathing.
They sat like that in silence for a while. Nam-gyu felt as if he’d tamed a wild animal and now had it in the palm of his hand. The act of cradling fucking Thanos whilst sitting in his lap was making his mind wander.
‘…you okay, hyung?’
For a second there wasn’t an answer.
‘Mmnhh…sure…’
Nam-gyu took the purple-haired man’s head in both hands and looked at him. He was a mess. A pure wreck. His eyes were rimmed red with laughter-induced tears, his cheeks were flushed almost purple.
‘Haha-! Holy shit! Look at you!’
Player 124 had tried his best to hold himself together but Thanos’ destroyed face was too hilarious.
Thanos didn’t have the energy nor the will to push back. Nam-gyu’s hands were cold on his flushed cheeks and it had been so long since he was treated with gentleness that even if the touch were mocking, it was still a comfort.
‘Ugh, whatever, man’ he couldn’t meet Nam-gyu’s eyes. The words came out half hearted. ‘The fuck you expect?’
Nam-gyu pouted theatrically and squished Thanos’ cheeks together slightly, thrilled to bits at the defeated sigh it induced. There was none of that pesky arrogance to be seen.
‘I expect an apology’ Nam-gyu decided to show a modicum of mercy and loosened his knees, freeing Thanos’ arms. Those arms slowly started to raise- for one terrifying moment he thought Thanos would push him off and cuss him out- but instead they simply just rested.
Thanos’ hands sat on his thighs casually. Either his hands were particularly big, or Nam-gyu’s thighs were particularly slender, but his ringed fingers took up almost the entire surface. Nam-gyu tried not to combust.
‘Apology for what…?’
‘For being so rude to me earlier’
Thanos finally looked directly at him. His face was plastered with confusion.
‘What’d I do…?’ He asked in a small voice.
‘You need to lay off those pills’ Nam-gyu chastised. ‘First you can’t remember my name, now you can’t remember hurting my feelings so bad?’ He tapped an index finger on the cheek he was still cupping. The closure of actually…having a conversation with this man, opposed to just drug-induced nonsense, was giving him more and more confidence.
Although, ‘conversation’ was a bit generous.
‘…y’mean when I was all…worked up? About my cross?’
The hands holding his head disappeared abruptly and a finger poked his temple.
‘Aish! Yes, idiot! You were horrible!’
Thanos swatted the finger away and then rubbed down his face.
‘Aight, aight…’ he held up his hands. ‘I was a bit of a dick’
‘A bit?’
‘…a lot of a dick’
‘That it?’
‘It wasn’t anything personal, boy. I just- you know. I…I-’
‘I know, I know. You need it’
‘…yeah. Uh, sorry’
Nam-gyu narrowed his eyes and looked close at him. It was a pretty shit attempt at an apology. But it was something.
By Thanos’ standards, this was him grovelling on his knees.
Not to mention that the rapper didn’t seem to be pulling this out his ass for the sake of saving his skin from more tickles. He seemed genuinely uncomfortable, the way everyone gets when they have to administer a true ‘sorry’, as he rubbed his jaw and tried to distract himself with a particularly interesting dust mote floating past.
‘…fine’ Nam-gyu (reluctantly) grabbed the bunk behind Thanos and used it as leverage to push himself up.
Thanos noted the empty absence in his lap. He chose not to say anything, because really…what would he say? ‘Nam-gyu, please sit back in my lap, it feels weird without you’? He’d rather be eliminated.
He was jostled out of his thoughts by the feeling of something cold round his neck.
‘Here. You can have this back’ Nam-gyu was draping the cross necklace around Thanos, even going as far as to arrange it neatly across his collarbone and zipping his player jacket back up. ‘You earned it’
Before Thanos could say anything, Nam-gyu was already stalking back to his bunk.
Minutes passed and Thanos continued to sit there, propped against the bed behind him. His hand was inside his jacket, absentmindedly fiddling with his cross. He squeezed one of the peninsulas, cold angular material turning his thumb and forefinger white, trying to process what had just happened- and more importantly, why it had just happened.
Thanos wasn’t a total idiot- in fact, even if he was, he’d still have picked up on just how obvious Nam-gyu was being. He’d never seen such blatant moves in all his life. Not even with the girls at the club who’d desperately try to win his affections, unknowing that he’d never return them for reasons that would ruin his reputation.
He hadn’t hated it, not one bit.
He’d make more of an effort to be nicer to his Nam-gyu from now on.
