Silver Linings from Silver Eyes (Xenoblade Chronicles Tickle Fic)
A/N: This fic came out of nowhere, but I felt like writing something to help me relax after I almost had an emotional breakdown during my online class. This fic wasn’t inspired by any specific prompt from a prompt list, I just had a spontaneous idea. I apologize in advance if this fic isn’t that good.
As always, no romance, no NSFW.
With the explanation done, onto the fic.
P.S I am very sorry to all of the people who are getting tired of my lee!Shulk posts, but lee!Shulk is just too good in my eyes.
Update 07-10-22: This fic is now on AO3! Here’s the AO3 Link!
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Alvis had been waiting for Shulk for about an hour. He was hiding in the hallway of his home, invisible to the entire world, when Shulk opened the front door.
The visionary let out a heavy sigh, and Alvis could immediately tell that he was stressed out and/or frustrated by something that happened at the Weapons Development Lab.
He silently followed him to his room. As soon as Shulk closed the door to his room, he slowly stretched his arms up into the air, and he slowly laid down on his bed.
He had a long day at the lab today. He had struggled with the development of a new weapon for the Defense Force in Colony 6. The blueprints confused him several times, but he eventually understood what he had to do.
Unfortunately, he had to deal with multiple instances of the weapon falling apart as he tried to test it out on a test dummy. He thought he had it down the first time, and every time it broke, he became increasingly frustrated at himself for constantly making errors. He managed to get it to stay in one piece, and it turned out to be quite useful in battle, but the frustration did not leave his mind.
He hadn’t stopped beating himself up about it, not realizing that his perseverance made him stick through the struggles until he finally got the weapon’s design and durability right.
Alvis knew that Shulk’s willpower had made him the perfect candidate for the downfall of Zanza in the old world, but he also knew that he was a pessimist, especially when it came to his own talents and skills. He had trouble seeing the silver lining to any sort of issue.
The creation of the new world did not change his behavior at all.
He does catch on to silver linings eventually, but Alvis wished that he could see them from the start.
For now, Alvis was thinking about talking to him, but he was slightly concerned about the possibility of Shulk exploding at him in anger. He tended to do that when he was upset with himself.
He doesn’t mean any harm when he has these episodes, and he wants to stop them from happening, but for now, Shulk had a very high risk of getting angry at people for no logical reason when he felt like this.
Reading Shulk’s mind didn’t bring Alvis any comfort. He could see all of the negative thoughts that he was having. None of them were alarming in any sort of way, but he wanted to put a stop to those thoughts before they got any worse.
So Alvis made his move.
He made himself visible while standing in front of the door to Shulk’s room, before he lightly knocked on the door.
The sound made Shulk jump and grab the Monado Replica EX out of the corner of the room before calling out, “Who’s there? Show yourself!”
Alvis slowly opened the door until he could see the Homs standing in the middle of the room. Upon seeing the former divine seer, Shulk lowered the artificial Monado and put it back in the corner.
“Alvis?”
The silver-haired… something gave the other man a polite wave.
“Hello there, Shulk. Sorry for scaring you.”
“How did you get in here? I thought I locked the door!” he said, confused about how the other could have walked into the house when there was no one behind him.
“I was waiting here the whole time. I wanted to speak with you about your travels on the Bionis Shoulder, but I can see that something is bothering you.” Alvis explained.
“Huh, no wonder why I felt like someone was watching me when I stepped in from outside.” Shulk responded, relieved that no one had snuck up behind him.
“Indeed, that was why. Moving on from that, you are stressed. I can tell.”
Shulk wasn’t surprised by his words. He was pretty easy to read, and lying was not something that came to him naturally.
“Uh… Yeah, I am a little stressed.”
“No need to explain. I already know what’s been bothering you.”
Now that was surprising.
“What?! How do you know about what happened at the lab?!” Shulk said, shock audible in his voice.
“Have you forgotten? I am capable of reading the minds of those around me. Your mind has been full of negative thoughts and repeats of the mistakes you made.” Alvis answered him, relaxing as he realized that Shulk wasn’t going to verbally lash out against him and himself at the moment. The risk was still there, though.
Shulk stood there without saying anything for a second, then spoke.
“I don’t get it.”
“Hm?”
“I don’t understand how I could have made those mistakes. I’m supposed to be a weapons developer, and yet I couldn’t figure out the blueprints right away!”
And there it was. Alvis knew this was going to happen.
The heir continued, “I should have been able to get that weapon to stay together, but it kept falling apart! How did I let that happen?!”
Alvis tried to interject, “Shulk…”
“No, I don’t need your pity, Alvis! Do you not see the fact that I can’t do anything right?”
Alvis tried again, “Shulk.”
“You don’t see how I am a massive failure right now? How do you not see that?!”
Alvis nearly shouted, “Shulk!”
That managed to stop the boy in his tracks, though the seer did notice that he kind of shrunk into himself in response to the near-shout. Dickson’s shouting must have done some serious psychological damage if that was how Shulk responded to someone shouting or yelling at him.
“Apologizes, but I had to stop you in some way before your thoughts spiraled out of control. Now, I want you to listen to me.”
Shulk’s eyes showed that he was still waist-deep in self-hatred, but the rest of his body showed compliance towards Alvis’s request.
“You’re lying to yourself. You are not a failure at anything, and you are capable of doing things right, even if you can’t do it right the first time. If your words were in fact the truth, why would I have chosen you?”
Alvis could tell that the budding scientist was listening, but the self-hating look in his eyes did not fade, and the expression on his face didn’t change. At least, that was what it looked like from where Alvis was currently standing. However, he knew better.
Alvis slowly approached the young man. He appeared to be thinking about backing away, but his body did not move an inch.
“You couldn’t save the lives of everyone in the old world, and yet you managed to save everyone who survived Egil and Zanza. You didn’t understand those blueprints right off the bat, but in no time, you managed to figure them out.”
Shulk didn’t quite understand how those two things were connected, but Alvis quickly provided an explanation.
“Can you see? Can you see how you are incapable of being perfect, and yet you are capable of making a drastic, positive impact on the lives of others, and are capable of learning something new in mere minutes?”
The blonde nearly lost his angry expression, feeling a slight amount of heat in his cheeks. Nonetheless, his expression remained the same.
“You are not a perfect person. Becoming a perfect person is an impossible goal to fulfill. Of course, you can strive to better yourself, but you should not expect perfection.”
Alvis knew that saying this wasn’t going to make Shulk feel any better about his imperfections, but he could tell that his words were getting through to him.
“I…” Shulk tried to say something in response, but he couldn’t find the words.
“Your face appears to be relaxing. You are blushing. Am I correct in assuming that my words are helping?”
The weapons developer quickly turned around to hide his blushing face, and he thought about what to say. He almost wanted to say “no”, but he knew that at this point, it was futile to lie to the other Homs (?). However, he didn’t want to say “yes”. He could say that right now, but he knows that Alvis’s words will not change his attitude anytime soon.
Alvis’s voice startled him out of his thoughts.
“No answer? I see… then maybe-“
As soon as the word “maybe” left the silver-haired seer’s lips, the heir sprung back into action.
“Don’t.”
Now it was Alvis’s turn to be confused, except that the confusion was being faked by him.
“Hm? What do you mean ‘don’t’? You haven’t answered my question, so I believe I need to get an answer from you, regardless of how I get it.”
“Don’t!” Shulk said with a slight squeak in his voice.
“Why are you squeaking? I didn’t say anything off putting, did I?” Alvis asked as if he didn’t know the answer to his own questions.
Shulk could hear Alvis’s smirk from behind him.
“Alvis, no!”
He tried to run out of the room, but Alvis caught him before he could even make it halfway across the room.
“Where are you going? The answers do not reside outside of this room. They do not reside in this room, either. Only you have the answers that I am seeking, and I need to find them, no matter what.”
The blonde squirmed in the seer’s arms, but he failed to loosen Alvis’s grip, and he couldn’t break free from his clutches.
“What’s with the squirming? I’m just trying to find answers. Why are you resisting me and my words of encouragement?”
“I-I’m not trying to d-deny the impact o-of your w-words!”
The stammering had begun. Alvis smiled to himself in anticipation of what was about to happen.
“Is that so? Then why did you hide yourself from me? If you wanted to tell me that, then you shouldn’t be hiding your face from my eyes. I was able to detect the impact of my words before you could even turn your back on me, but you can’t hide your feelings. That isn’t a healthy thing to do, you know.”
Alvis pulled himself and Shulk onto the latter’s bed, his arms never losing their hold on the other boy’s body.
“W-what do y-you think you’re d-doing?” Shulk was slowly starting to lose it as anticipation tore his negative thoughts to shreds, replacing them with mental images of what was inevitably going to happen to him.
“Getting my answer. And maybe, I can also add in some additional compliments to cheer you up even more.”
Alvis moved his hands onto Shulk’s stomach and began to scribble his fingers all over the spot.
“WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOHOHOHOHOHOHO HEHEHESIHIHIHITAHAHATIHIHIHIHION, HUHUHUHUHUH?”
“No. This is what happens when you don’t give me the answers that I seek.” Alvis stated calmly.
“SAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAYS YOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOU!” Shulk laughed out.
“Pardon?” Alvis knew what he was talking about, but he decided to tease him by pretending he didn’t know.
“Y-YOHOHOHO- HEHEHEHEHEHEHEY!” Shulk was quickly cut off by Alvis as he felt the seer’s fingers creep up his rib cage, occasionally poking in between the bones.
“How unusual. I’ve never met someone whose ribs were easy to feel. You are rather thin, but thinness looks nice on you.” Alvis was almost as stunned as Shulk was about the words that just left his mouth, but the former was able to shake off the feeling.
The latter, however, had a brighter blush on his face than he did when Alvis was talking to him about his accomplishments.
“WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAT?” Did he hear his correctly? Did Alvis really just say that?
“I said that thinness looks good on you. Is that an odd statement?”
The heir was about to reply, but Alvis quickly zipped his fingers back down to his belly.
“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIY THAHAHAHAHAHAT SPOHOHOHOT AGAHHAHAHAHAHAHAIGN?”
Alvis slowed his tickling down until he was lightly fluttering his fingers over the blonde’s tummy.
“Fascinating. It must have been difficult for you to get your abs. And yet you pressed on, and here you are today. This is proof that you are capable of making an impact on your own life that is just as positive as the impacts you have made on everyone else.” Alvis chuckled as he felt Shulk twitch under his hands.
“Ahahahahahahalvihihihihis… thihihihihis isn’t necesary… hehehehehe…” The boy’s laughter had died down to light, adorable giggles, but it didn’t take for him to start laughing again as his calves were suddenly under attack.
“Huhuhuhuhuh?” Shulk had never felt this before. No one had ever gone after that spot before, and truthfully, he didn’t mind what he was feeling right now.
“Your legs are rather strong as well. This was definitely caused by the amount of running that you have done over the years. And they haven’t gotten any weaker, either. You see? You want to keep yourself in good condition. Surely, a person who couldn’t do anything right wouldn’t be able to sustain these muscles.”
Alvis had a grin on his face. He could barely see the other male’s face, but he could still make out a bright red blush. A blush that was brighter than the glowing ball of ether that appeared in the light blue sky above their heads.
“Yohohohohohou dohohohohohon’t hahahahahahave tohohoho dohohoHOHOHO THIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIS!” Shulk’s laughter became heavy when Alvis used one finger on each of his hands to tickle both of his underarms. He squirmed once Alvis found that one spot between his underarm and the top of his rib cage.
“Easy there. If you break free, you might fall off of me and onto the floor. We don’t need to have an imperfectly perfect Homs get hurt now, do we?”
“IHIHIHIHIMPERFEHEHECTLY PERFEHEHEHEHECT?” The visionary questioned through his laughter.
“Yes, imperfectly perfect. Your imperfections make you one of the most loved Homs in this world. I did say that a perfect person can not exist, but what I meant was a person who is capable of doing everything perfectly on the first try. You seem to be one of the only Homs to anywhere close to being a perfect person in terms of who you are. You don’t need to do everything right to be loved by the world and the races residing within it. All you need to do is be yourself.”
Alvis moved up to Shulk’s neck, allowing his laughter to die down enough for him to breathe and speak semi-normally.
“Quihihihihit ihihihit, yohohou’re makihihihihihihing mehehehehehe bluhuhuhuhush…”
Alvis laughed, “Why do you think I’m doing this?”
“To tehehehehehell me to lohohohove myself? Shulk asked.
“That’s right. In addition to making you flustered, I want to convince you that you are worthy of love, including self-love.”
“Ihihihihi thought yohohohou wahahahahanted ahahahahnswers?” Shulk said as Alvis retracted his hands.
“I believe I have found my answer. My words did get through to you.” Alvis answered as he laid down on his right side and released the younger male from his hold. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah… I’m okay…” Shulk was breathing somewhat heavily as he felt Alvis stroke his hair. He accidentally let out a sound that sounded like a young Nopon who was dragging out his “meh,” his face returning to the bright shade of red from earlier as he realized what he did. Alvis had a look of surprise for a brief second before he regained his calm expression.
“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what that-“
“Cute.” Alvis cut him off.
“I-I’m sorry?” Shulk was still stammering, but it wasn’t as bad as it was prior to Alvis’s tickle attack.
“I said it was cute. I didn’t even know you could make that noise.” Alvis replied. “And I didn’t even know you could blush this much.” He followed up, noticing Shulk’s blush getting impossibly dark.
“Alvis… That’s enough.” he said.
“Understood.” Alvis responded.
The two of them said nothing as Shulk calmed himself down.
“Feeling better?” Alvis broke the silence.
“Yes… I’m feeling much better now.” Shulk said as he turned to face Alvis, unable to suppress the smile on his face. “Do you still want to know about the Bionis Shoulder?”
“I would love to know about it. I’ve never had the chance to see it after the Bionis fell.”
Shulk and Alvis spent around three hours discussing every little thing about the Bionis Shoulder, and the two of them began to cultivate a plan that would serve to protect the new world from a future attack from the Fog King.