Proper Education
A/N: I didn’t know how to approach this one, but I think working a tiny bit with “languages barriers” here did the magic. Number 22 - Foreigner - of @vqler's Tickletober prompt list of 2025 ft. Ash and Eiji from Banana Fish.
Words: 1,097 words under the cut
The hideout was quiet for once. The air was heavy with that warm, late-afternoon stillness - when the day hasn’t quite ended but the sun has started to cast long shadows. A cracked window let in the faint noise of the street below, but inside it was calm and relaxed.
Ash was stretched out on a beat-up couch, lounging in that effortlessly feline way he had, one arm draped across the back. Beside him sat Eiji, their shoulders touching just barely. On the opposite couch, Bones and Kong were slumped like they hadn’t moved in hours, half-awake from the heat and boredom.
Bones yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. “Man… this place could use a damn fan.” “You’re free to leave,” Ash muttered, not even looking up. Bones just smirked lazily. “Nah, not when we’re all chill and comfy like this.” Kong grunted in agreement, chewing something that might’ve once been gum.
The silence settled again until Bones tilted his head toward Eiji, who was absently flipping through a magazine, his head slightly tilted in that thoughtful way he always had. “You know…” Bones began, “I’ve always wondered somethin’.” Ash glanced at him sideways. Bones grinned. “Is Eiji ticklish?” Kong raised an eyebrow, vaguely intrigued.
The question made Ash sat up a little. “What?” Bones shrugged. “C’mon, I’m curious. Japanese guy like him? He probably has that soft laugh. Like heehee, y’know?” Ash rolled his eyes at that. “The hell is wrong with you?” he mumbled. “I’m bored.” Eiji looked up from his magazine and blinked. “Eh? What… tickle-ish?” He didn’t know that word yet.
However, he had understood something about “laughter” and “Japanese”. He tilted his head thoughtfully. “Ticklish,” Bones repeated, clearly amused now, “like… if someone pokes you, you laugh.” Eiji’s brow furrowed. “Ah… like, funny touch?”
Bones nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly. So… are you?” Eiji opened his mouth to answer, clearly unsure what Bones had just asked. The pink-haired leaned forward, gesturing toward his ribs with exaggerated finger wiggling. “Can I try?” he asked playfully.
Eiji hesitated. His eyes darted to Ash for a split-second, as if asking for his approval for whatever Bones wanted to try. The blonde’s eyes narrowed immediately. “Tch…” Bones raised both hands. “What? Just one poke, I swear!”
But before he could even lean forward, Ash had already wrapped an arm around Eiji’s waist and pulled him firmly into his lap with a smooth movement, confident, protective… possessive. Eiji made a surprised sound, his eyes widening. “Ah- Ash?”
“You want to know if he’s ticklish?” Ash said in a deceptively calm voice. “Then let me show you.” Bones snorted. “Uh oh.” Eiji looked around in confusion and opened his mouth to protest, but the blonde had already moved. His fingers pressed lightly into his sides, starting at the lowest ribs and tracing slow, teasing circles up toward his underarms.
“Ah- w-waHahait!” Eiji gasped, instinctively trying to curl in, but the other held him steady. He knew that feeling, so that’s what they meant. They had asked if he was ticklish. Though, he couldn't rejoice about his newly insight, because the answer to it was “Yes”.
So, the reaction had been instant - his face had cracked into a wide smile and laughter, his laughter, had immediately filled the room. His laugh was so pure, so unfiltered, it captured the small space with its warmth instantly.
Ash smirked, one brow lifting. “Huh. Interesting.” “Stahahap! ThaHaht- t-t-tickliHish-!!” Eiji laughed, trying to remember the word he had just learned. “Oh, now you know the word?” Bones commented. Eiji’s cheeks were flushed and he wriggled, trying to shield his sides. Ash only slipped his fingers under his shirt, letting them dance lightly over his bare stomach.
“GYAAAH!! N-NoHohoHo!!” the ravenhead squealed, his whole body trembling with suppressed giggles. Ash leaned in closer, his lips brushing dangerously close against his ear. “I’m tickling you Eiji,” he whispered. “Repeat after me, T-I-C-K-L-I-N-G~ You got it?” the blonde sing-songed, squeezing his hips with each spoken syllable. That damn teaser.
Eiji squirmed harder, laughing breathlessly. His hands managed to grab Ash’s wrists but weren’t pushing them away too hard. “NoHOho I- aAhahh I- stoHOhop!” Ash tilted his head and just smiled, completely ignoring him.
“Tickling means you laugh… when someone touches you like this…” he swept his fingers back down, brushing just beneath Eiji’s belly button, “or here,” he explained, squeezing his hips delightfully. Eiji kicked slightly, crying out through his giggles. “AHAHA ASH! YOU!!!”
Of course he knew what “tickling” was, he wasn’t living under a rock, but how should you explain that to a hot gang boss who seemed to enjoy himself for once, having so much fun right now? Besides, did he really wanted him to stop? Ash grinned even more, as if he had just read his mind. “This ticklish foreigner still needs lessons, I guess.”
The ravenhead could barely breathe from laughing, but still managed to gasp out a protesting “N-Not faiiiir!!” Ash chuckled softly, curling his arms tighter around him, tickling lazily now along his ribs and sides, occasionally brushing under his arm or along his hip with the faintest pressure to get another high-pitched laugh out of him.
“It’s fair. You agreed.” When did he do that? Bones whistled low. “Okay, okay… man’s got it handled.” Kong got up and slapped Bones’s shoulder. “We’re out.” Bones threw up his hands. “Yeah yeah, quality time and all that. We get it.” The two exited quietly, letting the door shut behind them, leaving Ash and Eiji in their ticklish togetherness.
Ash eventually slowed down a bit, letting his hands drift down to rest on Eiji’s waist. Latter was still chuckling under his breath, face pressed into the blonde’s shoulder, breath coming in short, happy bursts. “Meanie…” he murmured with a muffled voice. “You didn’t say no.” “I didn’t know wha-what it meant!” Eiji huffed between lingering giggles.
He even puffed out his cheeks, making Ash smile and lean in again, his tone softer now. “You do now.” He brushed his hair back from his reddish face, fingers slipping briefly behind his reddish ear. “Then… thank you for teaching, I guess,” Eiji whispered, a soft smile still persistent on his flustered face.
Ash smirked. “Anytime.” They stayed like that for a while longer - Eiji still curled into Ash’s lap, his body warm and loose from laughter, and Ash with one arm draped lazily around him, fingers gently stroking his side. No more words were needed, just the soft echo of laughter and the steady beat of two hearts syncing in perfect rhythm.
