Mirage was having a pretty good day. It wasn’t his turn to play in any of the Apex Games today, so he was able to get in an early workout. At least, early to him. He was never an early riser, insisting that he needed his beauty sleep, but he’d started hitting the weights fifteen minutes before noon. He was so pleased with himself that he gave himself (and his holograms) a high-five.
Then came the fans.
At first, it was just a small crowd of one guy and two girls. They had their phones in hand and were speaking in hushed whispers. They tried not to make it obvious that they were staring at him, but they kept glancing down at their phone and back up at him. Elliott watched them for a bit. His muscles flexed as he did his dumbbell curls, and the whispers got a little bit a louder, mixed in with noticeable swoons. The trickster chuckled to himself and put the dumbbells down. He turned to the small crowd and gave them his trademark grin.
“Staring’s rude, ya know,” he teased. “A picture would last way longer.”
They squealed, compliments and questions all blending into one as Mirage took some pictures with the fans. For all of the years he’s been competing in the games, he never tired of the fan service. Maybe one of those pics that would definitely pop up on social media spark some new memories for his mom.
By the time he’d started his stroll down the dropship’s hallway, he’d showered, changed into more comfy clothes, and ate a sandwich he’d picked up on his way back. His eyes were glued to his phone as he liked, reposted, and responded to the comments on his fan page. It was the sound of deep, desperate laughter that made him look up.
Octane and Seer were there in the corridor. The speedster still had the man pinned down at the waist while he pinched and kneaded over his knees. Obi’s laughter, which was normally composed of calm chuckles, could be heard even at a distance. He was kicking and squirming, making a concerted effort to pull himself free of Octavio’s grasp, but he wouldn’t budge. The weight of his metal legs kept Obi from getting away, and in all honesty, Octavio looked like he was having a blast.
“Well, well, well. Looks like you two are having fun,” Elliott chuckled. “Guess all of those team-building exercises work after all.”
Octavio was in the midst of honing in on one of Obi’s knees when the trickster spoke up. He visibly brightened and grinned. “Dude, you’ve gotta come try this! Señor Fancypants here is so ticklish.”
Obi was quick to interject. “Abeg, nohohohoho! Help mehehehe, Elliott!”
Elliott stepped closer to the two, humming thoughtfully. “I dunno, looks like you’re in good hands to me. Although, I’d be a pretty bad friend if I didn’t help out, right?”
On the surface, it sounded like Elliott was going to help, but his growing smile told Obi that it wouldn’t be in the way that he meant it. He squirmed with a renewed vigor as the trickster knelt above him.
“Wahahait! Wait! That is not what I MEHAHAHANT!”
Obi yelled when Ocatvio got a good grip on his leg and, bending it at the knee, scribbled his fingers along the underside of his knee. The artist bucked and laughed even harder. His leg kicked and bucked in the speedster’s hold and he curled in on himself, his cackles echoing throughout the corridor.
Mirage made a show of stretching and flexing his fingers. Obi felt his presence and hugged his arms around his torso. This made Elliott chuckle.
“What’re you talkin’ about, buddy? I’m gonna help you,” he smirked. “Oh wait, did you think I wasn’t gonna see this for myself? Damn, sorry. You should’ve been more specific.”
Mirage moved to get Obi’s arms out of the way. It wasn’t easy; Seer was already a nimble individual and his cackling and squirming meant that he wasn’t gonna hold still. Still, Mirage was persistent, and he’d managed to pin one of the man’s arms down to free up one side of his torso.
“And you know what else?” Elliott continued, giving the man experimental pokes at his sides. Octavio had to ease up on his knees so he could hear what he was saying. “Correct me if I’m wrong, which I’m not, but didn’t you push me off World’s Edge two days ago?”
With Octavio giving him a break on his knees, Obi took the opportunity to catch his breath. The pokes made him jump and chuckle, but it was nowhere near the cackling he was just doing.
“Wh-Whahat?” Obi breathed. “We were on opposing teams—”
“Right, and there’s totally no hard feelings, buuuut,” he hummed. “That team building thingie Ajay had us do said we should always find ways to bond after the games to uh, ‘keep the good blood flowin’. So!”
Elliott wrestled his other arm down while he was yapping. Now, he could freely poke and prod into the man’s sides, making Obi’s chuckling become more prominent. He grinned. “If this isn’t team building, I dunno what is!”
Octavio snorted. He returned to tickling the underside of Obi’s knee, leading to another shout and frantic laughter. “Heh, works for me.”
The higher Elliott went up on Obi’s sides, the harder he laughed. He twisted from one side to the other, head tilted back as he laughed.
“YOUHUHU AHAHARE TWISTING HEHEHR WOHOHRDS!”
Obi protested through his loud laughter. His arms strained in Elliott’s surprisingly strong hold as he tried to bring them back down.
“Psh, that sounds exactly what she’d say. When I care enough to listen,” Octavio laughed. He looked over his shoulder at Elliott and smirked. “Go higher, amigo. His ribs are crazy ticklish.”
“Oh?”
Elliott repeatedly squeezed the spot just below his rib cage. Obi arched upwards with a wheeze.
“NOHOHOHOHO! BIHIHIHIHIKO!”
“Huh, well would you look at that,” Mirage chuckled. “We’re more alike than I thought. See? It’s working!”
The trickster then raked his nails in quick scritches along his rib cage, laughing as the man bucked and cackled. Octane was getting bored of tickling his knees, so he got off of his legs and scooted up to his side. “Muévete (Move over), Elliott. I’ll hold his arms.”
Elliott made a big show of acting like he was surprised and flattered. “Why, thank you, Octavio! What a kind and generous offer.”
They swapped places faster than Obi could blink, both in the literal and metaphorical sense. Octane used the weight of his legs to help keep his arms pinned over his head, and Mirage was able to straddle his waist. The trickster resumed tickling his ribs, using the pads of his thumbs to knead over the individual ribs and the spaces between. The fits of laughter came in waves and, not content with staying on the side lines, Octavio prodded into the man’s exposed armpit.
Mirage and Octane weren’t sure they’d ever heard Seer laugh so hard.
so on shiro's death spot happens to be one of the hardest places to get because he can retract his wings and hes very cautious about having them out around people, especially his sister. HOWEVER! there is one person he will casually have them out with and that would be his adopted naga dad Mirage. so of course after hearing that shiro has been terrorizing his friends, he had to punish his son in the best way possible!
A/N: As promised, this story is a follow up to the matchup ask I answered yesterday. Again, I couldn’t decide between Fuse or Mirage, so I decided to post both stories. Maybe you’ll like this one better? I dunno, but either way, I hope you enjoyed one or the other!
Now that you’ve gotten more comfortable around the Legends, they’re not sure who’s more of a jokester: you, or Mirage. Both of you love one-upping each other with your jokes, so a competition was bound to happen. Mirage was on the road to victory until Rampart outed him for being ticklish, but Elliott isn’t going down without a fight!
A couple of months passed since you joined the Apex Games, and a lot has happened since then. For starters, you’ve gone from staying in your bubble to mingling with two other Legends: Mirage and, through him, Rampart. Any time a new Legend joined the Games, Elliott took it upon himself to introduce himself to them. He saw himself as the heart and soul of the games, so who wouldn’t want him as their new best friend? He was also friends with the majority of the other Legends, save for an angry robot or two, and he made sure you got a chance to talk with anyone you wanted. After all, what were new best friends for?
You came to realize that Elliott wore his Holographic Trickster moniker to a T. If he wasn’t trying to bamboozle someone with his decoys, he was telling jokes to anyone within earshot. Some Legends thought he was funny, others…not so much. The last time he told Wraith a joke, she rolled her eyes so hard, you swore that they’d get stuck like that.
But telling corny jokes was second nature to you, and something that helped your friendship with Elliott flourish. So here you were, in Paradise Lounge, with a cold soda in hand and a big grin on your face.
“Hey, hey Ramya…”
At first, since you were so shy, Rampart loved to pick on you. But now, you had her convinced that you were the first test subject of human cloning. Maybe you didn’t look like Mirage, but the personalities were pretty identical. She took a long swig of her drink; she knew by that silly grin on your face, she had to brace herself.
“Mate, this’ll be a waste of a bloody good pint if ya say something stupid.” She warned. You grinned some more; there wasn’t any real malice in her voice, but you had your legs turned towards the side of the chair in case she made good on her promise. You were already giggling, so you had to take a breath to calm your laughter.
“You’ve heard people say ‘money doesn’t grow on trees’, right?”
Ramya leered at you, but didn’t move to chuck her drink at you…yet. “Uh huh…”
You snorted. “Well, I hate to tell you, but they’ve got it all wrong. Wanna know why?”
“Ugh, get on with it, (Y/N).”
“...Because all banks have branches.”
Rampart buried her face into her hands and groaned. You, on the other hand, almost fell out of your chair laughing.
“That was your worst one yet.” Ramya complained. She’d never admit it, but the joke wasn’t that bad. But, the last thing she was going to do was encourage your nonsense.
“No it wasn’t! It was funny.” You argued, your eyes tearing up from how hard you were laughing. “It’s okay if it didn’t make any cents to you!”
You heard Ramya’s chair skid against the floor, indicating she’d gotten up. You yelped and tumbled out of your chair, taking your soda with you. “No, no, no! I’m done, I’m done!”
“You sure are,” she agreed, marching up to you and grabbing the soda bottle. “No more of these for you. If Elliott ain’t gonna cut you off, I will.”
“What?” You spat, fighting against her grip. “It’s soda!”
“I don’t care what it is! You don’t need any more sugar!” She yelled back, trying harder to wrench the bottle out of your hands. The commotion finally brought Mirage to the front of the bar. He wasn’t really that far away from you two, and every good bartender could hear arguing from miles away.
“Sounds like someone needs a better sense of humor, huh Ramya?” Elliott chuckled. He put a new bottle of soda where you were sitting and winked at you. You smiled and let Ramya take the bottle you had, hurrying back to your barstool. Ramya scoffed. She threw the soda away and headed back to her own seat. She didn’t have to pass by you to get there, but she did…and you screamed bloody murder when you felt a cold finger poke the back of your neck.
“Like hell,” Ramya countered. “If you’re going to tell a joke, you best make it a bloody good one. The ones you and (Y/N) tell are straight crap.”
You put your hand over your heart, pretending to be offended. Mirage snickered.
“Aw, don’t be like that! (Y/N)’s learned from the best.” Elliott’s smile widened as he leaned across the counter, nodding to you. “I don’t wanna brag, being the humble guy that I am, but they’ve come so far after watching me. Almost brings a tear to the eye…”
Your smile faded. “Elliott,” you said. “I’ve been telling jokes way before I met you. If anything, it’s you who learned from me.”
That wasn’t what Elliott wanted to hear, and it kicked off an argument. Rampart watched the two of you with amusement. She helped herself to another pint while you threw petty insults at each other. Then she put her hand up, silencing you both.
“Alright, alright, before you plonkers say something you mean…” She drank half of her pint, smirking. “Let’s make this interestin’, yeah? Witt, try to make (Y/N) laugh. (Y/N), same thing. First one to crack loses.”
You and Mirage looked at each other. Then he grinned widely.
“That’s a good idea, actually. You know, if you’re not scared or anything, (Y/N)...” Elliott drawled, coming around his bar to sit beside you. “I’ve been doing this for a long, long time. I’d hate to disade--dis--scare you off, before you even get started!”
“Save it, Elliott.” You leaned towards him, your eyes bright with determination. “I know you like to make speeches for everything. I can’t wait to hear the one to make when you lose~.”
“Hang on.” Ramya went behind the bar, popping back up with two water bottles. She put one down in front of you and Elliott, chuckling. “Gotta make this more fun to watch somehow. Drink some of this while you listen to the jokes. Loser’s gonna have a real fun time sloshin’ their way outta here.”
Mirage faltered; the jacket he was wearing wasn’t waterproof. But he had a reputation and a crown on the line, and he could always get a new jacket. He popped the cap off the bottle and nodded to you.
“You first, buddy. Hit me with your best shot.” He paused right before he could sip the water. He smirked. “Try to make it something I haven’t heard before.”
You had plenty of jokes in your repertoire, but besides the occasional lip twitch, Elliott didn’t crack. Even with his cheeks full of water, he still managed to keep a smug impression. After one more joke, you threw up your hands.
“Ugh, fine! Your turn.”
Mirage swallowed his water to tell some jokes of his own. And, you’d never admit it, but his were really funny. You pursed your lips tighter together, determined not to break. Ramya had fun watching you two for about ten minutes…but then she got bored. When you and Elliott switched again, she got up and positioned herself behind Elliott. The time for jokes was over, she thought. It was time to speed up the process.
“Yo, (Y/N). Did you know that Elliott is ticklish?”
Elliott’s eyes widened and, feeling Ramya’s hands ghost over his sides, flew off of the barstool. He accidentally knocked it over in the process, and she came at him again, this time aiming for his ribs. He coughed, bringing his arms against his sides to stop her. He shook his head the whole time, grunting what you could only assume was him saying no. That didn’t stop you from climbing off of your barstool and approaching them. You looked Elliott dead in the eye and tauntingly wiggled your fingers. The trickster paled; he could take on Rampart with no problem, but two against one? That wasn’t fair!
Elliott could’ve used his ultimate to escape, but that meant freeing up his hands to activate it. And he was too preoccupied with keeping Ramya’s tickling hands at bay. He caught her wrists and held them away from him, giving you the opportunity to get closer and closer. His muffled protests grew louder, and he decided to use Ramya as a human shield. She laughed and squirmed in his hold, making it that much harder for him to hold her…and much easier for you to jab a finger into his ribs.
The trickster jumped and, despite his best efforts, laughed. Both you and Ramya barely had enough time to avoid the stream of water that followed.
“Youhuhu cheheheater!” Elliott whined. Ramya wrenched her hand free and jabbed him in the side, making him yelp again. “Thihihis isn’t whahaht we agreed tohohoho!”
You gulped down your water and grinned. “So? It got you to laugh!” You pointed out, poking his stomach. “Which means I win!”
“Nohoho yohuhuhu DOHOHN’T--” Elliott’s breath hitched when Rampart grazed over a particularly sensitive spot on his side. He gave up on holding onto Ramya’s wrist and wrapped both arms around his torso. “This prohohoves my pohohint! You’ve gohoht nothing on mehehe!”
You narrowed your eyes, glancing at Ramya. The modder returned your gaze and grinned.
“Go left.”
You happily obliged, pouncing towards Mirage’s left side. Rampart leapt from the right. Mirage screamed, loudly, and used his ultimate before either of you could grab him. You stumbled forward, phasing through one of the decoys. One of the Mirages was sprinting to the door, and you frantically pointed at it.
“There! He’s running out the door!” You yelled. Rampart turned and gave chase, with you bringing up the rear. The real Mirage watched from the back of the room, smirking. He waited until Ramya was long gone before he ran up behind you, tackling you to the floor. You screamed as you went down, catching yourself with your arms. Elliott turned you on your back, trying to get you pinned.
“You thought I was gonna run out of my bar?” he laughed. He caught one of your flailing arms and pinned it to the floor, using his free hand to poke at random spots on your torso. “I don’t know what’s worse: you chasing an obvious decoy, or you thinking you’ve won by cheating!”
You squirmed, fighting against his grip while giggling. “I dihihihdn’t chehehehat!” you squealed. You batted at Elliott’s wrist with your free hand. “It mahahahde yohuhu lahahahugh!”
Elliott scoffed. “We were supposed to tell jokes! You know that! But if you’re not gonna play fair,” he smirked, seizing your other arm and holding it down with his knee. “Then I won’t either!”
The panicked giggles spilled out of you as he clawed at your side. You writhed, trying to get some leverage on your arm, but Elliott was stronger than you and kept you still. So instead, you called for help.
“RAhahahahahamya!” You screamed, bucking your hips when he scribbled across your stomach to get to your other side. “Cohohohohme bahahahahck!”
Elliott snorted. “She’s probably still running after the decoy! I wish I could see the look on her face..” He laughed. He scratched up to your ribcage and kneaded in between the bones. You arched your back, giggling louder.
“N-Nohohohohohoho!” You whined. You flinched when he grazed over the more sensitive ribs. This encouraged him to tickle even faster. “Leheheheht gohohohoho of mehehehe, Elliott!”
“Oh sure, buddy. I’ll let you go,” he agreed, now gently pinching at each rib. Your eyes snapped up to his and he grinned widely. “Right after you admit that I’m funnier than you.”
You shook your head, screaming “NEHEHEHEVER!” Mirage laughed.
“Terrrrible choice, (Y/N)! I thought we were friends!” He raked his nails up and down the length of your ribcage, snickering at your yelps and laughs. “We could’ve buried the hat--no, hatch? Hatchet! That’s the word. But fine, be that way!” He tickled even higher and stuck his hand under your arm. He drilled his thumb into your armpit, making you cackle.
“YOHUHU’RE NAHAHAT FUHUHUHNNY!” You shrieked. Elliott jabbed around your armpit and your loud laughter filled up the room. “OHOHOHNLY YOHUHUHU THIHIHINK THAHAHAT!”
“I dunno. This is the hardest I’ve seen you laugh, and I haven’t even told a joke.” He answered, poking your ribs before returning to your armpit. “I must be pretty funny. The funniest, actually. Which you should say if you want me to stop.”
You were stubborn. Stubborn, and still hopeful that Rampart would come back and save you. So you didn’t want to give into Elliott’s demands. You wouldn’t! You drummed your legs against the floor, hoping to alleviate some of the ticklish sensations.
“I’M NAHAHAHAT SAHAHAHAYING IT!”
Mirage sighed heavily, as if tickling you pained him. “Alright, you brought this on yourself.” He shrugged, suddenly releasing your arms. Before you could retaliate, he pushed a hand onto each of your armpits, digging all ten fingers into your skin. You shrieked with laughter and squeezed your arms against your sides, but it didn’t stop the tickling.
“STAHAHAHAHA!” You cried out. You bucked your hips, hoping it’d throw him off, but he stayed right over your waist. He shook his head.
“Nope! You know what to say to make me stop.” He responded, continuing to wriggle his fingers along your armpits. He thought you would’ve given in by now, but he didn’t mind too much. He found your laughter adorable, albeit loud, and was happy to keep tickling you until he heard the magic words. But you were stronger than you looked, and you were clamping down on his hands pretty hard. So he pulled his hands out of your armpits, pinned your arms back down with his knees, and revisited your torso. This time, he used his knuckles to knead into your sides, bringing your laughter back down to frantic giggles.
“Plehehehehease!” Elliott was a softie, you knew that much about him. If he wouldn’t stop tickling you on his own, maybe he’d just start to feel bad and let you go. But this time, you couldn’t be any more wrong. His pride was on the line, and he’d defend it with everything in him! He gripped onto your side and squeezed it repeatedly, making you snort. “Ellihohohohohtt!”
“Yeeeesss?” He sang, alternating between your sides and happily squeezing away. You tossed from one side to the other, trying to get a clear word out, and getting nothing but giggles. “You ready to say those magic words?”
Again, you shook your head. Elliott squeezed across your waist, ending at your belly, and your breath hitched. The trickster acted like he didn’t hear it, but he did. He tickled over to your other side and then doubled back, poking at your stomach again, again, and again. Each poke earned him a shout of laughter.
“Last chance, (Y/N).” He warned, gently stroking your stomach with his fingertips. You gasped and threw your head back, pinching your eyes shut from the force of your laughter. “Just say I’m funnier, and I’ll let bygones be bygones!”
“Okahahahy! Okahahahy!” You squeaked. Elliott slowed down so you could speak. “Yohohohu’re funnier! Yohohohu ahahahre!”
“Yeah? You think so?” He asked, squeezing the side of your tummy before returning to the gentle stroking. You nodded repeatedly.
“Pfft, of course you think so! I am the funniest Legend out there, after all.” He smiled; now, he should have let you go, given that you said what he wanted. But he was having a lot of fun, and wasn’t ready to let you go just yet. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses. Now, say you’re sorry and I’ll let you go. Promise!”
“WHAT?”
You stared at the trickster in disbelief. That’s when the tickling pace quickened, and you sucked in your stomach. “I SAHahahahahaid it! Leheheheheht me gohohohohoho!”
“I will! After you apologize for cheating and for trying, and failing I should add, to tickle me.” Mirage’s tickling was getting faster, and you were teetering between wild giggles and hysterical laughter. “I’d expect that from Ramya, but not you. So you still owe me an apology!”
Somewhere, you found this surge of energy and renewed your struggling. “Nohohohow whohoho’s nohoht sticking tohohoho whahahat thehehy agrehehehed ON--”
Elliott decided to use both hands to tickle your tummy, squeezing and kneading over every inch of ticklish skin. He raised his voice over your cackling. “That’s a lot of words, buddy.” He chuckled, drilling his thumbs into both sides of your stomach. “I’m only looking for one, though! You know, starts with an s-, kinda rhymes with…uh…Mari?”
“NAHAHAHA! Gohohoho tohohoho hehehell!” You couldn’t help it. Elliott could be a real troll when he wanted to be. Elliott raised a brow and looked at you. You froze.
“What did you say?” He asked, pushing his thumbs into your abdomen and tickling some more. You debated on repeating it, but ultimately decided against it and resumed shaking your head. Elliott smirked and leaned down towards you.
“No, no. I just couldn’t hear you. Say it again, I’ll listen!” Then, without warning, Elliott tucked his head under yours, rubbing his stubble against your neck. You yelled and, with him still tickling your stomach, you fell into hysterics.
“STOHOHOHOHOHP!”
The trickster snickered and pretended to still not hear you. “Hm, nope. Still can’t hear ya. Let me try this side!” He rubbed into the other side of your neck before you could bump his head away. You absolutely howled, and when Mirage moved his head to blow a raspberry into your belly, you fell into silent laughter.
Finally, finally, he eased up on the tickling, leaving you in a puddle of giggles. He figured it was safe enough to let your arms go, but he stayed positioned over your waist just in case.
“Sooo?” He smiled, gently tapping your belly. “Who’s the funniest Legend you know?”
“...You are…” You panted, still trying to catch your breath. He expectantly cocked his head to the side.
“And?”
You groaned, but otherwise complied. “I’m sorry for…you know, cheating.”
Elliott climbed off of you, his grin stretching from ear to ear. “See, was that so hard?” He teased, laughing as you sprawled out on the floor. He would’ve teased you more if he didn’t hear his front door open and slam shut. When he looked over his shoulder, an indignant Rampart stormed into the bar. Elliott laughed some more. “Man, you got duped.”
“Shut up, I don’t wanna talk about it.” Ramya growled. She came over to Elliott’s side and peered around him to see you still on the floor. Judging by your disheveled appearance, she had a pretty good idea of what happened. She clicked her teeth, kneeling over and offering a hand. “Oh, mate. Don’t tell me you got your arse handed to you by this plonker.”
You pushed yourself up into a sitting position and grabbed onto her hand, using it to pull yourself up. And you were still holding her hand when Elliott strolled over, draping his arm around your shoulders.
“Hey, it happens to the best of us! But listen, if you think I’m sens--sen, well, you know. Which I’m not, because you uh, just surprised me.” He quickly corrected himself, gently squeezing your shoulders. “(Y/N) here is really ticklish. Probably the most ticklish legend in the Games…”
Your eyes widened and, before Ramya could tighten her grip on your hand, you let go and hurried to the door. You were still really tired, but hearing footfalls behind you gave you enough motivation to sprint…or at least try. Elliott followed after the two of you, putting his hands in his pockets. Sure, maybe ratting you out to Rampart was uncalled for, but at least you’d remember what would happen if you challenged him again.
Hi! I'm so sorry this is late. I hope you like it. It's based off of the first reader insert fic I did.
Made You Look
Mirage finds out that you’re ticklish through your interactions with Octane, and he’s the last person you’d want to know about it. You can’t shake his playful gaze, and it gets worse the more you try to ignore it. You’re smart enough to avoid getting caught alone with him. At least, you thought you were. The Mirage that you’re looking at is a decoy; the real one is behind you.
Hot pizzas and cold drinks were an awesome way to wind down after a long week. At least, that’s what Mirage thought. After giving the delivery driver a generous tip, he brought the food into the ship’s common room and set it down on the table. That’s when he heard it: a high pitched yelp, followed by a crash and more screaming. Usually, that wasn’t a concerning thing to hear on the ship. When chaotic Legends, like Octane, Rampart, or even Fuse were all put together in one space, loud noises became a regular occurrence. In a way, it became normal.
But the scream he heard wasn’t normal. It sounded like someone had fallen, or they were under attack. Elliott frowned; now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen Revenant lately…
Taking a breath, he ventured towards the noise. What started off as screams actually ended up as laughter.
He raised a brow and poked his head into the next lounge room.“Look, I’m the last guy who’d wanna ruin anyone’s fun, but…WHOA!” Elliott jumped out of the way as you burst out of the room.
“MOVEMOVEMOVE!” You screamed as you dashed down the hallway.
You’d spent the last hour messing with Octavio, teasing him about losing his last game to you. The last thing you did set him off; you claimed that maybe he wasn’t as fast as he thought he was, threw his mask across the room, and booked it. Well, Octane had enough of your shenanigans, and he was next to come running out, hot on your heels. All Elliott saw was a green dash whiz past him.
“Get back here!” Octavio growled. He easily caught up with you and leapt forward, tackling you and sending both of you crashing to the ground. You screamed again, and Elliott hurried after the two of you.
“Hey, take it easy! Or, ya know, at least don’t kill each other!” He called, quickening his steps to catch up to you both. “We do enough of that in the…”
The trickster gaped at what he saw; you, pinned down under Octane, and him tickling the crap outta you. You beat at his hands as they danced all over your torso, filling up the hallway with your laughter.
“Still got jokes, amigo/a? Huh?” Octavio smirked, reaching underneath your arms and scratching away at your armpits. You arched your back, squealing.
“NOohohohohohohoho! Ah! Stahahahahahap!” You protested, further trapping his hands as you squeezed your arms against your sides. “It’s nohohohot a johohohke if it’s truhuhue!”
The speedster narrowed his eyes and pulled his hands free, trailing back down to your ribs and sides. You laughed even louder and writhed against the ground. “It’s not true, you had Che’s help! Too bad she’s not here to help you now, eh?” He answered, chuckling. He used his thumbs to knead at the spaces between the ribs and the fleshiest parts of your sides. You swatted at his hands again, cackling, and he pinned your wrists above your head. “Not that it would’ve mattered! You’re so slow, I could’ve walked and caught up to you.”
You pulled against his grip, your response lost within the laughter. If you hadn’t been laughing so hard, you would’ve noticed that Elliott was still standing there, now watching the scene with amusement. When he first met you, he flirted with you nonstop, claiming that he was simply giving you a warm welcome. But he had no idea that you were ticklish! He smiled and put his hands in his pockets, stepping over the two of you to get back to the main lounge.
“Ya know what, I’ll just let you two sort it out. Don’t take too long though! Pizza’ll get cold.”
Not even the promise of pizza was enough to quell Octane’s wrath. Your head snapped up to Elliott while you made futile attempts to free up your arms. “WAHAHAHAHAIT!” You screamed as Octavio clawed at your belly, making your laughter take on a desperate pitch. “DOHOHOHN’T LEHEHEAVE MEHEHE, ELLIHOHOHOHTT!”
“Huh?” Elliott turned around and cupped his ear, as if he couldn’t hear you. “What’d you say? Sorry, it’s hard to hear you over there, (Y/N). Tell me later!”
“NO—“ You called after him, but the trickster left, leaving you victim to Octavio’s tickle attack…
When you saw Mirage again, he had a steaming pizza in his hand, and you were red in the face from laughing so hard. Elliott leaned against the frame of the door, a smirk gracing his lips. “You kids having fun?”
Octane glanced up from what he was doing—presently going to town on your neck—and slapped on a massive smile, “Sí, and it seems like (Y/N) is having a blast too…” He drilled his thumb into your underarm, making you shriek.
Mirage set down the pizza and plopped down onto the couch, pulling free a slice and laying back and smiling at the scene. “I can tell! (Y/N) is being super loud!” He had to speak up to talk over your cackles.
Eventually, Octane released you and got up to join Elliott. He collapsed on the couch next to the trickster and snatched a piece of pizza from Mirage’s plate. The older man glared at the younger and turned his body to shield his food. You, on the other hand, were currently sprawled out on the floor, struggling to catch your breath. The smell of pizza was heavenly, but you could hardly move a muscle because you were so tired.
“Come on, compadre, get up!” Octane teased, stuffing his face with yet another piece—that was his fourth.
Thankfully, Elliott had made more than one and had gotten up to retrieve it when the daredevil ate half of the other one. Mirage got back from the kitchen and knelt beside you, poking you in the side. You violently twitched and curled into yourself, glaring daggers into the older man. He snickered and got back to his feet, returning to his spot on the couch.
“Just makin’ sure you’re still with us, buddy. What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t check on you?” Elliott grinned. You scoffed and pushed yourself up into a sitting position. Maybe it was just you, but the trickster was giving you an awfully big smile. You’d even argue that it was too big.
“You’d be a better friend if you weren’t helping Octavio bully me.” You answered, giving Octane a side eye as you went to get some pizza. Octavio smirked and made a fake crying face at you, and you would’ve throttled him if you weren’t so tired. Mirage chuckled.
“I didn’t see any bullying! What I saw was perfectly innocent.” He argued. “Plus, it made you laugh.”
While you were getting your food, he swung his legs up on the couch. He elbowed Octavio. Octane flinched and gave him a strange look, watching him motion to you, to the couch, and then back to you. It took him a minute to realize what he wanted, but by the time you returned with your plate, Octavio had brought his legs up on the opposite side of the couch. Now, the only seat available to you was the one right next to Elliott.
Your eye twitched. You sat down beside the trickster, but leaned as far into the arm of the couch as possible. Maybe you’d be able to enjoy your food before it got cold. Well, Mirage left you alone for the first few bites. But then, he cozied up right next to you, trapping you between him and the couch. You peered wearily at him, taking small bites of your pizza. He didn’t do much, just sat there… smiling… watching… to say it made you slightly afraid is a monumental understatement. Eventually, you convinced yourself to just eat your food and ignore him, and you found yourself relaxing, just a smidge.
That’s all until you felt Elliott’s arm drape around your shoulders. You choked mid-chew and froze, staring up into that smug smile of his.
“So, (Y/N), when were you gonna tell me?” Elliott whispered into your ear, grinning wider as you fidgeted under his touch. By now, you were pretty much immune to the trickster’s charm, but that’s not why you were nervous. You knew what was coming, and everything about his actions told you that it was coming fast. Still, you were determined to play it cool. The other Legends hadn’t shown up for their pizza yet, so there was still hope.
“...Tell you what?”
You tried to appear uninterested while you took another bite of your pizza. But, Mirage was smarter than he let on. He moved his arm from your shoulders to your torso, squeezing your side. You yelped and went to jerk from the sensation, but Elliott held strong. Thankfully, Octavio had the tiniest attention span in the world, and was browsing his phone during the exchange.
“That you’re ticklish.” Elliott smirked. Instead of squeezing again, he gently stroked up your side, making you snicker. You held onto what was left of your food with one hand, trying to fend him off with the other one.
“I wahahsn’t gohohing to! Leheheave mehehe alohohne!” You whined. Mirage beamed and easily dodged your flailing hand, drumming his fingers at your rib cage.
“Nope! You can’t keep secrets from your greatest friend in the Outlands.” He laughed, jumping back to your side when you almost grabbed him. “It’s against the law. Should be, anyway.”
You squealed and sent the remnants of pizza flying, unable to successfully bat him away with one hand. The crust bounced off of Octavio’s head before it found the floor. Octane cringed and finally looked up from his phone. He glanced at the discarded pizza, then smirked at the scene beside him.
“Now you’re throwing food at me? That’s it!” Octane hopped across the couch so that you were now pinned between him and Mirage. You paled and went to push yourself off the couch.
“Nonono! I dihihidn’t---AH! ELLIOTT!”
The only response you got was a shit-eating grin as he jabbed you again in the rib. Then, while you were fighting off his hands, Octavio added to the chaos by squeezing your sides. Now you were really screwed. You screamed and shrieked, bucking around like a fish out of water. Both the boys couldn’t help but laugh; the sight of you thrashing around, making an assortment of sounds, was just too hilarious. Just before they could really tickle you, Pathfinder bounded into the lounge with Lifeline and D.O.C, bringing the tickle attack to a halt.
“Friends!” He greeted, cradling the drone like a baby. “I hope you saved enough pizza for us! I want to teach D.O.C. all about what my human friends eat so that he can grow up to be smart, like his daddy!”
Ajay let out an exasperated sigh. “Path, for the last time…D.O.C. ain’t ya kid. He’s mass produced…and ya ain’t gettin’ cheese all over my health drone!” She huffed, taking D.O.C. out of his arms. Path’s shoulders slouched and his monitor displayed a sad emoji; so, against her better judgment, she handed the drone back to him. “Ugh, fine…gwan get me a slice. But D.O.C. can only watch…understand?”
Path happily nodded and ran off to get the pizza. Ajay shook her head and finally turned to you, Mirage, and Octane. She blinked; you were still squished between them, and your face was red.
“(Y/N), ya alright?” The medic approached you, her eyebrows knit with concern. “Ya look…flustered.”
You nodded, still trying to catch your breath. The men dispersed with the biggest, smuggest grins on their faces, and it only made Che even more suspicious.
Lifeline’s presence made it possible for you to enjoy a full slice of pizza uninterrupted. Eventually, the other Legends poured into the room, drawn by the scent of food. Someone suggested turning on a movie. Surely with Ajay beside you, you’d be safe from Mirage and Octane’s antics, right?
Well, about halfway into the movie, Ajay excused herself to turn in for the night. The doctor was so tired from working in the medbay all day and couldn’t keep her eyes open. Octane, on the other hand, couldn’t sit still anymore and ran off to do something else. That left Mirage, Gibraltar, Horizon, and Wraith in your immediate vicinity. Dr. Somers was seated on your left and, because Lifeline left, there was a free seat to your right. You glanced at Mirage, hoping that he didn’t notice. But, not only did he notice, he gave you a cheeky grin as he got up and walked towards you.
You panicked, gathering the blanket Ajay had given you and bringing your legs up onto the couch. This didn’t deter the trickster, though; he marched right up to you and picked your legs up, moving them back onto the floor. You yelped in protest, earning a few stares, but Elliott just blinked at you innocently.
“What? This seat’s not taken, is it?” Elliott asked. He scooted as close as he could to you, going as far as pulling some of your blanket over himself. Now he was getting really cocky. You glared at him and wordlessly retreated towards Horizon. The last thing you wanted was to grace him with a response.
After that, it all went downhill. You weren’t even focusing on the movie anymore. All you could focus on was the slightest movement Elliott made as squeezed your knee underneath the blanket. You gasped and flinched.
“Stohop, Elliott!” You hissed between gritted teeth. You pressed a hand to your mouth, trying not to be loud, but the ticklish sensations along your knees made it extremely difficult. Elliott grinned and jumped to your hip, kneading the bone between his fingers.
“I’m not doing anything.” He whispered, extending his arm out to continue tickling as you squirmed away. You bit on your fingers, your snickers getting louder as you kicked at him. Wraith peered over at the two of you, distracted by the commotion, and she frowned.
“Elliott, (Y/N), knock it off.” She demanded. She sat up from her lounging position and glowered. “We can’t hear the movie with you making noise.”
You blushed and, after elbowing Mirage in the side, murmured an apology. You snatched the blanket away from him and laid against the astrophysicist’s arm. Dr. Somers looked at you and gave you a warm smile. She affectionately patted your hand and went back to watching the movie. There was a lull in the movie, and combined with the comforting presence of Horizon, you finally relaxed.
Unbeknownst to you, the trickster scooted back over to you ever so slowly, and snuck one hand underneath the blanket. One poke to your stomach made you scream, startling everyone in the room.
“...You good, bruddah?” Gibby asked, pausing the movie. All eyes were on you and you nodded frantically, blushing bright red.
“Y-Yeah! Sorry, I just…” You leered at the trickster and climbed off of the couch. “I, um…my leg’s cramping, that’s all. I’m just gonna get more popcorn.”
You retreated from the room as fast as you could. You hurried into the kitchen and buried your face into your hands.
Dammit, Elliott. You’re such an ass. You ran your hands through your hair a few times and took a deep breath. Then, as if the universe was against you, you heard footsteps behind you. You cringed; maybe it was Horizon? Wraith?
Nope, it was Elliott. At least, you thought it was. There was more than one way to get to the kitchen, and the trickster sent in a decoy after you.
“Hey, (Y/N)! Let me help you get the popcorn!” He offered. He stepped closer to you, smirking. “It’s on a high shelf, easier if I get it for you.”
An idea popped into your head; if he wanted to pester you so badly, maybe you could give him a taste of his own medicine! You stepped aside and gestured towards the cabinet containing the popcorn, “After you!”
The trickster flashed you a smile and strutted over. You waited for the perfect moment before launching an attack. You gleefully reached for his sides…only for your hands to phase through his torso. You stared in bewilderment; even as the decoy faded away from existence, you remained standing, staring at your hands. You were so enthralled with the notion of being bamboozled, you didn’t hear the rapid footsteps coming up behind it. It was the sensation of fingers squeezing your sides and the shriek leaving your throat that snapped you back to reality.
You lunged forward in an attempt to escape from Elliott. You whirled around, arms wrapped protectively around your torso. Mirage rapidly approached you, mirroring your retreating steps with his own. “You really thought you could pull a fast one on me?” He laughed. He extended his arms out and stretched them towards you with wiggling fingers. “ The good looking, perfectly handsome, king of bamboozles?”
You held up your own arms as a response, frantically looking around for an escape route. “Uh, you commented about your looks twice…” You mentioned, desperate not to get walked back into a corner.
Mirage grinned. “That’s because I’m that handsome. Anyway, back to you…” A mischievous smile spread across his face and, out of nowhere, he launched forward.
No amount of flailing or backpedaling away from him helped to protect you. He jabbed you in the ribs again, again, and again. Eventually, you were reduced to a squealing mess on the floor—your knees had given out, making you tumble to the ground. Mirage followed you to the ground, hovering over you, and pulled your arms off of your torso. He held them away from you with one hand, his other hand poking and prodding your stomach. You immediately burst out laughing, the ticklish jolts crashing onto you like a tidal wave.
“NOHOHOHOHO! GEHEHEHET OFF!” You screamed, not even caring if the others heard you at this point. Smirking, Mirage vibrated his hand across your stomach and ended up on your sides, where he repeatedly pinched them.
“Nope! There can only be one trickster around here, and that’s me.” He answered. You laughed even harder and arched your back, but Elliott easily stayed in place. “So I guess someone has to teach you a lesson! That someone being yours truly, of course.”
“WHAHAHAHAHAHT?!” You drummed your legs on the floor as he fluttered his nails against your rib cage. “Yohohuhu cahahn’t behehe seheherious! I dihihihdn’t dohohoho anythihihihng!”
Mirage joined in on your laughter. He slowed the tickling down to gentle strokes along each rib bone, giving you an opportunity to breathe.
“You totally did! First, you hid the super awesome secret that you’re ticklish from me. Me, of all people! And just now, you tried to bamboozle me!” He insisted, now poking at the spaces between each bone. You snickered and twisted your torso around. “That is unaccess—unac—I won’t stand for it!”
The trickster found a sensitive rib on each side of your rib cage, making you squeal. You pulled at your arms, testing his grip, but they didn’t move an inch. “Thahahat’s nohohot truhuhue!” You yelped. Although you were partially lying, you hadn’t been hiding anything! If anything, this was exactly why you didn’t tell him about how ticklish you were. “I wahahahasn’t—ah!”
Elliott suddenly jumped to the crook of your neck and scritched away. You sputtered and threw your head around, trying to trap his fingers, but all he had to do was switch to another side. You giggled madly and tried to protest, which only encouraged him to tickle even faster.
“Stahahahaha!” You whined. Mirage snickered, amused by your squirming, and he ducked his head down towards you.
“Aw, don’t you sound adorable! Try again, buddy, I don’t know what you’re saying!” He teased, beaming as your cheeks turned red. You glared at him, or at least tried to. Your eyes were tearing up from how hard you were laughing.
“Stahahahahap tihihihickling mehehehe!” You yelled, finally managing to squish his hand between your neck and shoulder. You panted, your eyes darting from him to his hands. Mirage made a dramatic look of realization while tapping his fingers against your neck.
“Oh, stop tickling you?” He repeated, wiggling his hand free from your neck. You didn’t answer, watching his hand slowly drop towards your torso. He rested a hand on your side and chuckled as you tensed up. “And miss out on these cute widdle giggles? No way!”
Instead of tickling your side, he walked his fingers across your stomach. You gasped loudly and arched your back, frantically pulling against his grip.
“NO! Ehehelliott, plehehease…” You pleaded. Elliott looked at you and gave a cheeky smile.
“Bad spot?” He asked, curiously pinching the side of your stomach. You responded by hollering and recoiling to the side. He did it again, just for fun, and laughed as you kicked at the ground. “Wow, I guess it is! Okay, (Y/N), since I’m the nicest guy in the Outlands…”
He held his hand just above the spot, wiggling his fingers in the air. You pinched your eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable…but nothing happened. It wasn’t until you opened your eyes and looked up at Elliott’s grin that filled you with dread.
“I’ll give it lots of tickles, just for you!”
“NO ELLIOTT!”
The trickster released your arms and dug both of his hands into your tummy. You screamed out a laugh and flailed at his hands, unable to get a good grip on them. Although you were laughing hysterically, Elliott got tired of you grabbing his hands, so he scooped both of yours back into his own.
“Here, since you clearly wanna hold my hand..” He teased, putting them over your head as he continued his assault on your tummy. Your cheeks burned red as you threw your head back, howling.
“STAHAHAHAHAHA!” You yelled. You flopped against the floor in hysterics but, instead of stopping, Elliott went back to those dreaded pinches that drove you up the wall. By the time someone finally came into the kitchen, your laughter was silent.
“..I think they’ve had enough, Elliott.” Came Wraith’s voice from the kitchen’s entryway. She stepped further into the room and approached the two of you. Luckily, she didn’t seem as annoyed as before. Elliott looked up, slowing his attack back down to gentle stroking.
“Aw, c’mon, Renee! We’re having fun!” He replied, mixing in a couple of pinches along with the gentle tickles. You hiccuped and twitched, clearly exhausted. Renee now stood right next to you, nudging the trickster with her foot.
“Elliott.”
Elliott groaned and withdrew his hands. “Alright, alright! I’ll stop.” He conceded. He let your hands go and crawled away to give you some space. This seemed to satisfy Renee enough, so she left the room after Mirage gave no indication that he’d pounce again. After a good ten minutes, you finally pushed yourself up into a seated position.
“Ugh…you suck.” You groaned, cautiously taking his hand when he offered it to you. Mirage snickered.
“Hey, that’s what happens when you try to trick me! Oh, and keep secrets, can’t forget about that.” He grinned. “But look, I think we can put all of this behind us after I get you that popcorn! Whaddaya say?”
“...Extra butter and make it snappy.”
For once, Elliott listened, and he made a big bowl of popcorn for you to share. Horizon and Gibby gave you small, knowing smiles once you two returned to the room, but you were too tired to notice. You were also too tired to enjoy any of the popcorn, finding sleep a much more appealing option. And Mirage made certain that when you fell asleep, your head ended up on his shoulder.
