A little initiative can go a very long way
Chainsaw Man - Angel Devil x Aki Hayakawa
A/N: These two are probably the hardest characters I wrote in a looooong while. So complicated and what for, just kiss already.
Also, again, I'm trying out new characters for the first time and they may sound somewhat ooc, so forgive me for any inconsistencies!
Summary: Angel finds something intriguing and want to try it out
Word count: 1667 words
[Also on Ao3]
Strange, Angel thought while savoring another bite of the ice cream. It looked tiresome, if anything, and an excess of work for such a small result. It just served as another proof of how weird humans could be.
Still, he couldn't stop looking at or thinking about it. The contact between those two and then the loud, probably overly dramatic reaction. One of them looked like they were struggling, but they didn't stop smiling. Paying attention to it, Angel remembered they asked for it to stop even if it looked like they were having fun.
Weird.
If they wanted something, why not just ask for it? And if they disliked it, why let it happen in the first place? Angel gave the already half-melted treat another lick while his thoughts refused to settle on the matter, too many questions unanswered.
The silence settling around he and his 'partner' didn't help the process of thought. Besides the distant, almost faded out laughter coming from the other side of the park, there wasn't much noise in the background to keep them company. Maybe that was part of the reason Aki came to this place so often, Angel figured — but that was a site note to the current topic inside his mind.
Before they would be left with nothing but the gentle rustling of leaves, Angel hummed out loud, just enough to get Aki's attention. "Human," he muttered, stopping to lick the ice cream again, "do you think those two over there like each other?" Angel asked, pointing at their direction.
Again, half a moment of silence lingered in the air before one of them broke it. Aki sighed, weakly smacking Angel's arm to force him to lower his hand. "Don't go pointing at people like that," he complained and quickly noticed how the scolding didn't ease the devil's curiosity. Frowning, impatient, Aki lifted his eyes and looked for whatever managed to capture Angel's attention.
He narrowed his sight, spotting the two people that Angel was probably talking about. Aki could see one of them resting against the bench and… gasping for air? Or something like that, while the other sat by their side, seemingly smiling as well. What was there to make them look like a couple?
"No," Aki answered bluntly, almost scoffing at the question. "They probably finished running or something—"
"They weren't running, idiot human," Angel interrupted, biting down at the ice cream cone with a bit more force. "They were tickling each other."
"'Tickling'?," Aki continued, now a little less intrigued by the two on the other side of the park.
"They must be in love to tickle each other like that, right?" Angel continued, back on eating his cold treat while focusing on the far away couple. "Is it considered a bad thing to do it in the park?"
"Well," Aki couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at Angel's confusion. Those endless questions made Angel no different than a toddler. How troublesome. "Some people might feel offended if they see it like this."
"Humans are so weird," Angel answered as usually. He didn't feel offended. It looked normal, nothing extraordinary if anything. Why would it be offensive? "Do you like to be touched like that too?"
"I'm not discussing intercourse with you, devil," Aki muttered, eyes back on the little book he had at hand.
Angel hummed at the negative, his eyes darting back and forth between Aki and the couple. "I'm not talking about sex. And it looked fun, thought. One of them was even laughing."
"So?" Aki continued without any care for the conversation, barely grasping at whatever Angel was saying at that point. "Are you interested in it now?"
"Kind of?" Angel agreed much to Aki's surprise. The man lifted his eyes from the pages and turned around to look at the devil, the ice cream in his hand practically gone. "But I don't know if I see the appeal."
"I don't think you need one," Aki corrected, joining Angel and looking towards those two on the other side of the park. They were already leaving, making their way to the closest path and disappearing from Aki and Angel's sights. "It just works for some people and doesn't for others. Either you're ticklish or not. Simple as that."
"What about you, human? Are you ticklish?" Angel pried and leaned against the bench, eying Aki through the corners of his eyes. He didn't know why, but part of him expected a reaction at that question: a flinch, a shiver, a sharp inhale.
Aki, however, didn't give him anything. "I said I'm not discussing these type of things with you, devil," he answered without missing a beat, not even a shift in his voice tone.
Angel scoffed, disappointed again. He tilted his head slightly, his eyes moving from the tips of Aki's shoes to the little, weird top knot on his head. "Hmm, I think you are. You strike me as the kind who is," he nodded, confidently. "Don't worry, thought, your secret is safe with me."
"Whatever you say," Aki shrugged. Of all threats Angel could impose him, this wasn't one he felt like he should worry about. The idea was just mildly amusing, if anything, as the devil could, quite literally, tickle one to their death. How stupid. "We should get going—"
"Wait," Angel called, again, before Aki could even push himself off the bench.
The man furrowed his brows slightly, not really willing to buy another cold treat for the devil. "What now? We need to get back to work."
"Can we try it before we go?" Angel asked, his eyes seemingly avoiding Aki's. "Just once."
"I'm not letting you tickle me," Aki hissed, his eyebrow arched up at the request. However, instead of stubbornness, Angel remained quiet. Too quiet.
"Then," the devil muttered, "can we try the other way around?" He asked and finally looked at Aki, his hands clenched by the sides of his legs.
Now that was a surprise. A small part of him kept telling Aki the answer anyone in their right mind would think of: absolutely not. The idea was just as, if not more, dangerous than Angel's first request. Besides that, Aki wouldn't really call himself fond of Angel — he'd say he just put up with him better than the rest.
Still, something about the silent plead in Angel's eyes, in the slight pout and the expectancy in his look… Aki pressed his lips into a thin line, hesitating. "Are you even ticklish to be asking me that?"
"I don't know, that's why I want to do it."
"And do you know how risky is that for me?"
"I'm not asking you to touch me, pervert. Just don't touch my skin," Angel added as if he wasn't the one asking for it just now.
'As long as I don't touch him', Aki repeated inside his head before shifting onto his side on the bench to face Angel. "Do as I say, understood?" Angel nodded. "Put your hands behind your head and hold them there."
"Like this?" Angel asked, his fingers intertwining with each other and some strands of his hair. He looked up to Aki, something about this… pose making him feel off.
"For once you're actually listening to me," Aki chuckled, his eyes lowering to look at Angel's torso, to look for an opening. "Tell me when to stop. I will cut off your hand if you touch me."
"You're so unnecessar— hhgh!"
"Oh?" Aki mused, unable to stop the sly smile from showing in his face. His hands, latched onto Angel's sides and carefully placed over his shirt to avoid any inch of bare skin, moved again and a surprised giggle came out of the devil again. "You're actually quite ticklish, huh?"
"I-it feehels ohohoff!" Angel whined, pressing his eyes tightly shut while his mouth curled up in a crooked smile. His fingers dug into the back of his head and holding his hands there was starting to prove more difficult than he anticipated.
"You haven't been tickled before? Is this a first for you?" Aki continued, one hand pinching at Angel's hip, making the devil jump and nearly flap his wings open in a laughing fit.
This was weird, Angel thought in the back of his head. His body was telling him to flee, to make whatever this feeling was to cease. However, his body also… craved more of it. He could faintly feel Aki's touch through his clothes and it felt comforting, even when each poke and prod made him laugh stupidly loud. Did that person earlier also feel like this?
Angel shook his head, both dismissing the thoughts and denying Aki's statement. "H-huhuhuman— ahahah, d-dohohon't make it weheheird!" He complained through the laughter, his elbows pressing down as much as they could, trying to push and stop Aki's hand from tickling his ribs. "T-this feels ahahawful!"
"Is it? Have you had enough?" Aki asked calmly, contrasting the loud squealing in front of him. Groaning and laughing as much as he was, Angel neither answered nor asked for it to stop. Was he having that much fun? 'Who is the weird one now', Aki wanted to say and ignore the fact that this was amusing him as well. "Fine for me, then."
"Hehey— ahahah, yohohou're dohohoing it t-too hahahard!"
"At least try to sound like you're complaining, freak."
As Angel fought the feeling and his own sense of self preservation and Aki tried to tickle the devil to his limits, the scene quickly drew up attention from passersby, strolling on the other side of the bark.
"Hah," one of them smiled at the faraway scene, nudging at the other person by their side, "I told you there was someone else in here."
"Right," they nodded, continuing their walk while still staring at the two, "they look cute together. Do you think those two like each other?"
"Of course. Who would even indulge a devil like that if they didn't?"