Nora Was Right
Fandom: Red, White and Royal Blue (Alex, Henry, Nora, June)
Summary: Alex and Nora won't stop arguing, so June helps Nora to replace Alex's words with laughter. Henry observes and learns... and implements.
Content warnings: tickling, swearing, some sexual content
A/N: this fic is not totally sfw, there are mentions of sex and tickling in a sexual context (nothing sexual is happening but it's talked about). Other than that I have not much to say... it's been a while since I've written anything but writing this has been a blast so I hope you enjoy :)
The day started out peaceful, almost idyllic. An early swim in the lake, breakfast together. Now the White House Trio plus Henry are lounging in the grass next to the lake shore, sunbathing and reading and enjoying the calm sounds of nature... at least that was before Alex and Nora started bickering about some mundane thing that they won't let go because they both always have to be right.
June groans.
"Will you two please shut up? Henry and I are trying to read."
Henry, who is indeed sitting next to June with a book in his lap, looks rather amused than annoyed by their bickering.
When she gets ignored, June grabs a fistfull of grass and throws it in their direction.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
Nora, who is sitting crossed-legged and closer to them, turns her head and says:
"You agree with me, right? It is so obvious that in this case it would be a smarter decision to-"
"I don't care! We're here to relax, not have a political strategy meeting. See, Alex is starting to get it", June says with a nod towards Alex, who is now lying on his back with his hands folded behind his neck and a smug grin on his lips. Nora's eyes widen.
"Oh no no no, this does not mean you were right you little shit, just because you got the last word and it-"
"Nora! Please!"
Nora glares at June.
"Tell him I'm right."
"No. Now shut up."
"Tell Alex to shut up. And tell him I'm right."
"Both of you shut up."
Nora grimaces, but then gives June a mischievous look.
"Fine. But only if you help me shut him up."
June looks confused, but not for long. She catches on the second Nora reaches over and buries her hands in Alex's armpits, which are conveniently exposed due to the position of his arms. Alex lets out a choked noise and immediately pulls his arms down, but the damage is done and Nora's hands are now stuck under his arms. He writhes and tries to fight her off, all the while swearing and laughing hysterically.
"Noho, Nora fuck off-"
He almost manages to shove her off, but then June is there and grabs his wrists. She's not strong enough to pull his arms up all the way, but she pins them down left and right of his head, using her knees for additional leverage. Alex cries out in betrayal.
"June you traitor, let go- shihit!"
Without the challenge of avoiding Alex's hands, Nora's attack becomes a lot more meticulous. She squeezes his upper ribs a couple of times, then worms her fingers further under his arms despite Alex's best effort to squirm away from her touch. Yet with his hands pinned to the side, a small part of his underarms remains exposed. Nora wiggles her fingers and Alex has the wind knocked out of him. Squirming and gasping for air, he tries to form words through the fits of laughter that shake him.
"Nora- Nora plehease-"
The smirk on her lips is the last thing he sees before he squeezes his eyes shut and lets his head fall back into the grass. Somewhere in the back of his head, a voice is telling him that Henry is watching, but he can't find it in himself to feel embarrassed. Before he can decide whether his pride allows him to ask Henry for help, he registers that Nora has drawn her hands back. Through slightly teary eyes, he sees her scoot away and reach out for his leg. Alex inhales sharply when he feels a squeeze to his thigh and tries to draw his legs back, but she grabs and sits on them.
"No no no no- NORA!"
He cringes and lets out a very undignified squeal when Nora curls her nails on his bare knee.
"Ha! I knew this must be a bad spot, I remember you practically begging June to stop every time she did this to you", Nora teases playfully. June, who is still effectively pinning him, smiles fondly.
"Aww, that's so true. You really couldn't stand it. Especially if I did it repeatedly, that almost made you lose your mind."
Alex knows they are teasing him on purpose, but he blushes nevertheless. Partly because he knows that June is right. Oh, and there is also Henry wo is still just sitting there and watching with a quiet smile and okay Alex is definitely also blushing because of that.
Then Nora starts curling and uncurling her nails on both of his knees and doesn't stop and oh God, it tickles like hell. Alex feels goosebumps forming all over his body and his mind is fuzzy with laughter and happy hormones. He looks up at June through tears of mirth and helplessly shakes his head.
"Bug, why would you tehell her this, she'll kihill me!"
Nora cackles and uses one of her hands to squeeze up and down his thigh.
"Oh, don't worry dear. I have my own ways, I don't need June's intel to destroy you."
Alex closes his eyes and starts planning his own funeral when her hands find the back of his knees.
"No, Nora I swear- fuhuck!"
The touch is soft and maddening and so incredibly ticklish, and he is giggling, he's giggling uncontrollably and his legs are jerking and he tries to break free but simply can't. June has let go of his wirsts and is instead pressing his shoulders into the ground to prevent him from sitting up and fending Nora off. It doesn't really matter though, he doubts he is capable of anything other than laugh at this point.
"Oh God- please, mercy, Nora plehease", he finally begs, breathless and spent. Just like every time they do this to him, June and Nora both hear the urgency in his voice and eventually let up.
Alex closes his eyes and takes deep breaths and waits for the giddiness to subside. Once his breathing is more or less even again, June presses a kiss to his brow and chuckles fondly.
"You deserved that."
Alex blindly shoves her, then sits up with a groan.
"Do you see what I have to put up with, Henry? For years, these two have-"
He stops short when he sees the look on Henry's face. The slight tilt of his head, the sly smile that is only inches away from passing as a smirk, the playful sparkle in his eyes. A shiver runs down Alex's back. Henry doesn't say anything for a few seconds, just looks at him. Then:
"Alexander."
Oh shit. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit-
"Just out of curiosity. How come you've never told me that you're ticklish? Not to mention the extent of said ticklishness, which, in my personal opinion, is tremendous."
Alex feels how his breath quickens.
"You never asked?", he answers weakly. He is so fucked.
Henry is now outright smirking. He lets his eyes slowly wander across Alex's body as if trying to detect its sensitive spots and it makes Alex squirm and blush and want to let Henry do a great many things to him. But Henry doesn't do anything yet, he just turnes his head to look at June and Nora.
"So. Tell me more?", he askes innocently.
Alex briefly hopes the earth will open up and swallow him whole. When it doesn't, he just covers his bright red face with his hands and lowers his head. Jesus! Blushing and getting embarrassed is normally Henry's job. It's not even Henry knowing that he's ticklish that flusters him so much, it's the realisation that he wants Henry to tickle him. He wants to know if he's rough or gentle, if he'll make him kick and scream or squirm and giggle. He wants Henry to tickle him in the same playful way June and Nora always do, he wants to feel filled with joy and he wants Henry to laugh with him. But he's also suddenly curious about letting Henry tickle him during sex, about trying to incorporate this sensation into pleasure, knowing he won't be able to bear it but still enjoy every second of it. He's never really thought about any of this before and it's all a bit much. For better or for worse, Nora is there to take his mind off of all these hypotheticals and bring him back to the very real problem that Henry is about to find out things he can - and will, Alex is sure of it - use to take him apart bit by bit.
"Okay, so he is basically ticklish all over, there's really not much you can do wrong. As far as I know, his armpits, thighs and knees are the worst, especially the back of his knees, as I've demonstrated beautifully a little while ago. His whole torso is one giant tickle spot, but tickling his belly will make him melt. He's terribly sensitive to anything involving fingernails on bare skin- shush, let me finish", Nora scolds when Alex makes a noise of protest before continuing unperturbed. "Always pin him down unless you want to end up with a black eye caused by a stray limb, and always listen for that tone in his voice that tells you when he really can't take it anymore. June, do you have anything to add to that?"
June looks at him for a moment and smiles softly. Then she turns to Henry.
"Not much. Just that he likes it", she says simply.
Alex flinches and now he definitely wants the earth to swallow him whole.
"June! That's- I- why would you tell him that?", he splutters.
"So it's true?", Henry asks. His face is unreadable, but his eyes are full of warmth. Alex nervously bites his lip.
"Henry..."
He doesn't say anything else, unable and unwilling to articulate his thoughts. Nora suddenly squeals and clasps her hands.
"Oh my God, please chase after him and when you catch him you both tumble into the grass and roll around and you tickle him silly. How romantic would that be?", Nora swoons, but her shit-eating grin reveals her true intent.
Alex can't help but laugh at her antics.
"I fucking hate you, Nora, you know that?", he says without venom. Nora blows him a kiss but then raises her eyebrows.
"Oh. Seems you have bigger problems than me", she says knowingly.
Alex turns and is on his feet and ready to bolt the second he sees Henry getting up. He is blushing and his heart is hammering and fuck, why does it feel like a swarm of butterflies was let loose in his stomach?
"Henry no, come on- baby please, didn't you see what they just did to me? I can't- no! Fuhuhuck!"
And Alex is running, Henry hot on his heels. They run along the lake shore, but the ground is uneven and Alex keeps stumbling. June is cheering Henry on and Nora is cackling like an evil witch, but they start to sound distant. Alex makes the mistake of looking over his shoulder, because seeing that Henry has almost caught up with him makes his heart skip a beat. He stumbles. Tries to catch himself. A hand grabs his arm and before he can fully process it, he is wrestled to the ground. Henry straddles him and presses his wrists into the grass next to his head.
"Got you", he says, breathless and beaming, and Alex can't believe how beautiful he looks right then and there.
"I will punish you in so many ways for what you are about to do to me. And I will most definitely make you tickle me the next time you are sucking my dick", Alex pants, the adrenaline from the chase giving him a sudden burst of confidence. Henry leans forward until their faces are very close and pointedly tightens the grip on his wrists.
"Don't threaten me with a good time", he whispers. Alex sticks his tongue out and licks the tip of Henry's nose, making the other draw back with a noise of surprise.
"Okay, you asked for this", Henry says and attacks.
Of course he goes straight for the underarms, exposed for a split second before Alex pulls his no longer pinned wrists down. It's enough for Henry to place his hands and when he starts wriggling his fingers, Alex loses it. He's so incredibly ticklish under his arms and he cannot bear being tickled there again, not when he can still feel the ghost of Nora's touch.
"You bahastard! Not there, I cahan't!", he shouts through helpless laughter.
To his surprise, Henry actually draws his hands back and grins at him.
"Don't worry dear, I was just verifying Nora's information. And for your sake I hope she was right and this really is the worst because if it isn't then I don't know how you survive. Now, please try not to struggle too much, yes?"
And he attacks anew, this time going for Alex's ribs. Henry's touches are gentle but precise. It's closer to the way June usually tickles him. Nora is gentle when she knows that's what gets to him the most, but otherwise she's all squeezes and pokes and rapid skittering. But Henry's fingers are exploring, drawing little shapes and placing specific pokes whenever he notices Alex flinching. It keeps Alex on edge, always expecting another attack yet still shocked every time it actually comes. Bubbly laughter is pouring out of him and he squirms and pushes at the other's hands from time to time. He starts to resist more when Henry's hands wander down to his waist. The soft squeezes to his sides, the teasing fingers at the edge of his lower back. It's wholly unbearable. Henry tuts when Alex grabs his hands and completely shoves them away this time.
"However will you let me tickle you while sucking your dick if you can't even stand ten seconds of this without fighting me off?", he teases with a playful grin. Alex covers his face with his hands and screams into them. Henry chuckles.
"So dramatic."
He goes back to squeezing his sides in this horrifically precise way of his and Alex can't, he just can't. He endures ten seconds at most, probably less than that. Then he's tightly gripping Henry's wrists again, pushing at them and looking at him with pleading, teary eyes and the biggest smile ever splitting his lips. Henry stops and his smile is almost as big as Alex's.
"You are bloody adorable."
Alex exhales and closes his eyes, feeling yet another blush creeping onto his cheeks.
"Yeah, that's- that's not helping, Henry. Thanks."
He feels the other's weight shift, then Henry's lips press softly against his. Alex returns the kiss, slow and sweet. But as soon as it turns more passionate, Henry chuckles and pulls back.
"Sorry to disappoint, but trying to distract me won't work. I'm not finished with you yet."
Alex straight up whines and grabs Henry's hands again, but he doesn't fight him off, not really. Henry reverses the grip so he's now holding onto Alex's wrists. With a meaningful look, he drags his arms to the side and pins them into the grass with his knees.
"Nora was right again, you really do have to be pinned down. Now keep your arms there and don't try too hard to free them."
Alex curses and starts listing things he will do to Henry to make him pay for this, each one dirtier than the one before. Henry tries to act cool at first, but Alex notices the way his jaw clenches and how his faces flushes more with every word he says. His pride is somewhat restored when Henry breaks eye contact, clearly flustered and maybe also a tiny bit aroused. Alex smirks, but his smugness is short-lived. Because when Henry looks at him again, he immediately knows that his actions have backfired. He inhales sharply when Henry reaches backward and squeezes his thigh.
"I wasn't going to do this, but now you have given me so many reasons why I should. I'm counting on you to make good on the threats, by the way."
Before Alex has a chance to protest, Henry is squeezing up and down both of his thighs and he is laughing instantly. His legs jerk and he desperately wishes he could curl up and hug them to his chest, but the grown man's weight on top of him makes that impossible. There's really not much he can do except laugh and hurtle swearwords at Henry. The latter suddenly shifts himself further upwards and lifts his butt off Alex's legs so he can squeeze the upper most part of his thighs as well. Alex shivers and his laughter starts melting into something different. When a thumb softly presses into his groin, he arches his back and desperately tugs at his pinned wrists.
"Henry, wait! Wait, that- that spot is not in the 'playful tickling' category. And as much as I hope that you will remember it later, out here is not a place where I want to become horny."
Henry, the fucking tease, keeps his hand on his groin for another second and smiles at him knowingly.
"I see. I will keep it in mind, then."
Then he sits back down on his thighs and makes sure Alex's wrists are still securely pinned under his knees. Alex swallows hard because he failed to free his hands when he tried a few moments ago. He quietly observes Henry, but the second the latter hovers his hands over his belly and smirks at him, Alex starts begging.
"No, Henry please. I take it back, I won't get revenge. Or- or I will, of course, if you want me to, but-"
He cuts himself off and presses his lips together to keep the stream of anticipatory giggles from escaping his throat. Henry cocks his head.
"I know Nora said your thighs and knees are also worst spots, but this seems to get to you just as much. She didn't mention- oh. Ohh."
For what feels like the millionth time that day, Alex knows that he is just absolutely fucked. Henry confirms that a second later when he says: "Nails on bare skin, huh?"
Alex cringes visibly and some anticipatory giggles escape without his consent.
"Baby, please. Don't... I can't, I- oh Gohod-"
Henry drags his nails along the other's waistline to test the waters. Considering that Alex was already giggling before he even started, the frantic reaction he elicits doesn't surprise him. When he uses a single finger to draw a spiral closing in on Alex's bellybutton, the latter snorts and lets out a giggly "fuhuck you!" Henry grins and tickles his bellybutton for good measure, and Alex almost screams with laughter.
He calms down a bit when Henry uses his nails to trace little patterns all over his tummy. Instead of laughing frantically, he's now giggling and squirming and kicking his heels into the grass. He grimaces when he sees Henry laughing.
"Yeah I knohow Nora was right, you don't have to tehell me", he grumbles.
Henry just shakes his head, eyes glinting with affection, and Alex feels high on love and endorphins. He's also slowly reaching that weird state where his body has gotten somewhat used to the tickling, but at the same time his endurance is dwindling and he becomes more and more sensitive with every second. The tickling feels easier to bear, but at the same time it makes him laugh twice as hard as usual.
Henry soon starts tickling all over his torso, jumping from his waist to his neck to his chest and ribs. Alex just lies there and takes it for a while, eyes closed and deep belly-laughs pouring out of him. But he hits his limit when Henry uses his nails to draw wavy lines across his hips and lower belly.
"Stohop. Henry, no more, plehease", he begs weakly through fits of trembling laughter. Henry stops almost immediately at the tone of his voice and Alex would have laughed at the thought of Nora being right again if he hadn't been busy gulping down air. Henry climbs off of his legs and when Alex opens his eyes, he sees him lying next to him in the gras.
"Too much?", Henry asks, his voice betraying real concern. Alex quickly shakes his head and grabs the other's hand to squeeze it.
"No, just- just enough", he answers with a lopsided grin. Henry grins back.
"This might be my new favourite thing about you."
Alex raises his eyebrows.
"What, that I'm ticklish?"
"No. That you enjoy it so much. Ah! Don't try to deny it, we both know it's true. And I'm also being serious. I adore that you like it, I think it's beautiful that you value this sort of physical intimacy and that laughing brings you so much joy."
Alex is so captured by these words that he forgets to blush. He gives Henry a smile, one that is solely meant for him and that carries so many thoughts and feelings he could never express verbally.
"Wow. There goes His Royal Poet-ness again- hey! No, enough! I've had enough, I have no more laughter left in me."
Alex complains when Henry pokes his ribs a couple of times. The latter raises his eyebrows.
"But plenty of cheeky remarks, it seems."
Alex grins.
"You know me, I always have a couple of those in store. Oh, and one more thing."
Before Henry has the time to process, Alex is on top of him and pinning his wrists with his knees. What can he say? He's a fast learner. He leans down until his face is only inches away from Henry's.
"If I ever find out you are ticklish too, it will be your funeral. And trust me, I will find out. I'm on a mission now."
He traces a single finger down his torso, from his neck to the waistband of his swimming trunks. The way Henry's breath hitches tells Alex everything he needs to know. With a smirk, he draws his hand back.
"But testing it right now would be too easy. I'd rather keep the suspense for a couple of days. Or hours. Or weeks. Who knows? And besides, I have other revenge plans I have to take care of first. I specifically remember you telling me to make good on my threats and your wish is my command. And believe me, I will make you beg."
Henry has the decency to blush and Alex rejoices over it. He pecks Henry's lips, then smirks and stands up.
"But first, I'm gonna go kill Nora."
A/N Congrats, you made it through 3.8k words, that's no small feat ;) Thanks so much for reading, whether you are in the RWRB fandom and cherish this addition to the RWRB tickle fic repertoire or whether you're just here for the vibes.
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